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The Dilemma of Democracy

16 September 2023

It began, so they say, in Ancient Greece, where the city-state of Athens developed a new form of government. Unlike the old way of living under a chieftan whose word or whim was law, this method gave power to the people of Athens as a group. In the language of Greece, it was power (KRATOS) to the people (DEMOS) — thus, Democracy.

History teaches us that it was not a perfect form of government. For one thing, there were slaves: about half the population of Athens at the time. Only male citizens over 18 years of age — some 40,000 citizens out of a total of 100,000 — could vote. Only they were considered part of the demos.

Athenian democracy lasted only 200 years before evolving into aristocracy. But the idea of democracy survived through the writings of the historian Herodotus, to reach a bunch of malcontents living on the seabord of a nearly pristine continent. They had good reason for their dissatisfaction: a fellow across the Atlantic Ocean, King George III by name, ruled the land that treated them as second-class citizens and took the cream of resources from its new teritories.

What evolved in America since 1776 is a democratic republic, or a representative democracy. When the Founding Fathers created it, white male landowners held all the power. But the framework they created in the Constitution provided checks and balances to prevent any single faction from gaining undue power. The right to vote was expanded as the years passed: first to white men who didn't own land; then to black men after the Civil War; finally to women early in the 20th century. But there were people who resented this growing equality, and there still are.

The dilemma of democracy is simply how hard it is to maintain. Again and again we see it begin, grow and flourish, then turn into a system where an elite group, or one individual, has virtually all the power in society. The benefits of democracy are obvious: it provides for the needs of the majority of a population to be satisfied. But some people, it seems, crave unchecked power over others, and the others too often willingly go along to get along.

That is the situation we find ourselves facing today in the United States, currently the world's oldest democracy. For some 40 years, elected officials of the Republican Party have schemed and maneuvered to limit the actual power available to voters and concentrate it in the hands of a wealthy elite: themselves, heads of large corporations, and a coterie of billionaires. These changes included removing the laws forbidding large political donations from individuals. When essentially unlimited sums of money from individual sources could influence politics, the way was opened for a corruption of representation. That corruption is now pervasive in American politics, reaching even the Supreme Court.

Along with this go massive continuing efforts to mislead the public: gaslighting, or disinformation — or, more bluntly, lying. And such efforts work best on children. Which is why special interests focus on education.

The issues may be complicated, but the solution to the central problem is not. Simply remember what the Republicans have done, rather than what they say.

Republicans say they will end inflation's impact on prices. But history shows the economy does better under Democratic administrations.
As far as their plan can be discerned, Republicans intend to cut Social Security and Medicare and raise taxes on the middle class.
Republicans claim to be protecting election integrity. But they repeatedly rig district maps to favor their party, and still work to gain the power to overturn elections.
Under Trump, Republicans fulfilled few of the promises they'd made: adding jobs, building infrastructure, improving health care, securing the southern border. But they did pass a tax cut bill than mostly helps the rich.
The Trump administration's mishandling of the pandemic led to the deaths of 1.1 million people.
When he lost the 2020 election, Trump began plotting to retain power. His last step was to incite a riot in the Capitol on 6 January 2021.
In 2023, many of their candidates and elected officials — without evidence — believe the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.
Running for election in 2024, the twice-impeached and four-times indicted Trump still claims he won in 2020 and vows to take revenge if he regains the Oval Office.

This is the situation we face today. Conservatives want to rule America, not to govern it. They care nothing for the oaths they took on entering office. The two impeachment trials and the televised hearings of the January 6 Committee made this crystal clear. Subsequent events have only underscored the magnitude of their perfidy. Evidence is abundant. I provide wome sources below.

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To Open The Sky

The Dilemma of Democracy

16 September 2023

References

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Fearmongering & Gaslighting

Free and Fair Elections

Gerrymandering

Insurrection

Political Corruption, Courage & Cowardice

Threats to Democracy