The whole concept of what modern politics is has never made rational sense to me. I speak of course about representative democracy, our only and current system, as opposed to direct democracy, something that I would participate in if it existed. Who would not want to have an objective and unbiased information source to formulate an opinion on and the chance to have a say in what the 40% of money that is legally stolen from them is spent on? I most certainly would. With a direct democracy we could get that tax burden to 20% and make All of our lives a bit more enjoyable and better yet have a sense of pride for being involved in the formation of a system where we had some skin in the game rather than being the hide of the cash cow that was slaughtered to fund the politicians salaries and pensions that they receive for mismanaging their way to multi billion and trillion dollar debt burdens that will never be alleviated.
Our current system of representative government that is “called” democracy to me seems like nothing of the sort. Democracy for those who do not know comes from Ancient Greece and in the Greek language has the meaning of demos which means people and kratos which translates to rule, so, people rule. The pseudo democracy of representational government seems to be an antiquated form of being ruled over rather than being able to have a say as to what happens. As the saying goes, if voting made a difference they would not let us do it.
Representational government seems more than anything else to divide the people and get us fighting amongst ourselves rather than communities and then larger geographical areas forming a strong bond regardless of certain opinions such as religious or other personal beliefs and then working together to form a conflict free, inhabitable space to coexist. Anyone waiting for government to accomplish something in order to make their life better, will be, most of the time waiting in perpetuity until death.
Let us not forget that most politicians just tell us what we want to hear in hopes of being elected and then collect an inflated salary and pension and proceed to serve powerful institutions and corporations and nothing ever really changes for you and I except for a minimal tax cut or rise or possibly some sort of measly monetary payment sent to us, which in reality is just a fraction of the money they have stolen from us in taxes, shuffled around, a percentage given back, then many see this as the government caring about them.
If we do not take control of our own lives we become victims who then expects the government to take things from others to miraculously make our lives better. It never gets better no matter how much the government steals from whoever. You could probably take all the money from the richest people in your country and not even be able to pay off the national debt that our incompetent rulers have run up with their mismanagement of society. And anyone who considers themselves a victim will never amount to much other than being a victim. There is always someone worse off than another which will always rationalize somebody taking something from someone else if you believe the everyone is equal nonsense. The system will not tell you this, but it is the choices you make and the effort you put in that will determine what you become and there has been no time in history where the playing field has been been set up at such a level trajectory for everyone to participate in no matter your skin colour, sexual orientation or other difference. Government gets off and functions on having victims throughout society, hell their system is engineered to make victims so that they have people to justify their existence.
Let us not forget that those with power throughout all of human history have always been able to run roughshod over plebs like us because they are able to control government to a high degree. Sure there is a revolution once in awhile when us peasants are used by great powers to eliminate ruling structures and lop off the heads of some “rich people” in the naive belief that we will become someone or something important. But once the premiere bloodshed has slowed to a trickle and us peasants do not settle back into our peasantry then the real killing begins, the killing of us, and there are always more rich to take the place of the deposed ones. Just learn a little about the Russian Revolution and the Chinese Cultural Revolution for a fairly recent history experience. Or better yet make yourself familiar with Pol Pot and Year Zero. No, this time a violent effort will be no different. However, peaceful pressure is a different story. Pressure because we have come up with a better more intelligent way, not just to cause grief for the sake of being belligerent. We all deserve the right to earn money free of an income tax(a topic for a future article,) and be willing to give a consumption tax when we CHOOSE to spend our money and willingly support a supervisory structure with limited powers that is highly accountable to those that fund its existence. Perhaps the Ancient Greek practice of ostracism needs to be brought back in a 21st century rendition to alleviate the overbearing role politicians continually and far-reachingly intrude into decision making that negatively affects us all far too often.
Maybe in reality a great part of what we need is a stake in the societal environment that we all live in. It has been over a hundred years since anything really changed in the political system, maybe now is the time to begin a transition to some sort of direct democracy framework where we are able to have some say in the system that we dwell in. I know that such a participatory role would certainly give most people a sense of belonging and inclusiveness that is missing for many. I would happily volunteer 10 hours a week to participate in a meaningful manner to contribute to a direct democracy system if it curtailed the current fleece the sheep for powerful institutions dystopia that runs on auto pilot regardless of the political party of the day, month or year.
There are plenty of smart people out there with the ideas and knowhow to make this happen. One idea I have heard in the past is, why in this day and age can I bank online in a secure manner but not cast a vote online? Better yet, vote on a direct democracy issue online after forming an educated opinion from an unbiased and objective information source rather than being exposed to the current corporate and state mainstream media of obfuscating, subjective, sophistry that serves those in power.
As I have said before it is probably even possible to create a computer program with the input of how society functions. There is 5000 years of history to input into such a program and the option to update when new problems or solutions arise. We can then by lottery choose esteemed, intelligent, productive, resourceful INDIVIDUALS of merit and integrity to be watchdogs over the system for a short term of a year or so and give them a decent bonus above the regular income they earn.
So what is at stake? For a lot of people in the current system we have, not much, the reason why so many are disengaged from politics. They can see it for the once steaming, now decaying, pile of coprolite that it is. However, enact a system where there is some form of direct democracy and I bet many peoples attitudes and behaviour will most certainly change for the better. If not we eventually reach the pinnacle where government has mismanaged society to such a point that their only option is to declare that it is all the fault of rich people, so we have to underhandedly steal from those who have more than someone else.
When have you ever heard a government say that what they have done or enacted was the wrong thing to do and they are at fault for doing so? Almost never, other than many many years later, usually by another party and it is always done in a pandering manner in the attempt to make themselves seem enlightened and proactive. Mirrors do not seem to exist in the shady workings of legislators. It is time for us to draw the blinds, or better yet the curtain, and let the sunlight in to disinfect the political pathogens.
CR