print“Query: If democracy, from Latin America to Africa to the Middle East, brings to power parties and politicians who, for reasons religious, racial or historic, detest the ‘white, rich Western world,’ why are we pushing democracy in these regions?
Our forefathers were not afflicted with this infantile disorder. John Winthrop, whose ‘city on a hill’ inspired Ronald Reagan, declared that, among civil nations, ‘a democracy is … accounted the meanest and worst of all forms of government.’
‘Remember, democracy never lasts long,’ said Adams. ‘It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.’
Added Jefferson, ‘A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where 51 percent of the people may take away the rights of the other 49.’ Madison agreed: ‘Democracy is the most vile form of government.'”
[SNIP]
Homework: Make a list of all the pundits who persist in promoting the exportation of democracy. Unless it’s Willie Kristol, Ann Coulter, etc., provide links. Let’s out the Democracy Über-Alles Crowd.
Update (Jan. 15): In the above, as yet unheeded homework, I meant to include the neoliberals too. Out the bums who advocate wars for peace and/or nation-building expeditions.
Aristotle posits in The Politics that Democracy is a perversion of Constitutional Government, which still rings true thousands of years later. If we haven’t yet learned from history, why persist? Why not rather do like John Galt and leave society altogether until the democrats have “democratized” themselves into extinction?
The democrats have won the battle over the definition of democracy – and other such meaningful battles. Invoking Adams, Jefferson, Madison, is to appeal to dead, white, slaver, males (never mind Buchanan’s baggage). Citing Plato or Aristotle – who dey be?
And just as despair is about to ruin my day and a weekend, comes Jamshed – and there’s hope. Jamshed’s brilliance comes at the very end of this article.
Our two party DEMOCRACY – Scylla and Charybdis playing “good cop” and “bad cop” to extract money and power out of the voters. The Demoplican Republicrats peddle government benefits like a heroin dealer giving some junkie a free sample to get them HOOKED on Medicare, Social Security, Agribusiness Subsidies, School Loans, and the like.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scylla_and_Charybdis
Rural white church-goer who dislikes abortion and likes militarists dropping bombs and cops locking up dope fiends – you can join Scylla who protects you from Charybdis. Urban minority secular comfortable with abortion who likes to help the poor – you can join Charybdis who protects you from Scylla.
Bottom line – the Welfare-Warfare State.
Still, EXPORTING DEMOCRACY is a great idea. It should be exported into a dumpster, taken out to sea and buried! Bring back a constitutional REPUBLIC!
I don’t know if this counts, but when the Supreme court of Honduras impeached their president, our good friends Obama and Chavez demanded that the court reinstate the president who violated the constitution; it was called a reinstatement of democracy by ‘GreenLeft’ “http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/802/41307” a case of democracy vs law.