Posted on 08/09/2007 7:41:37 PM PDT by PlainOleAmerican
Can any representative republic survive a progressively ignorant electorate? Can freedom be sustained in any society hell-bent upon taxing its productive members out of existence, for benefit of its non-productive? Can people unable to successfully govern their own lives be entrusted with the power to govern others?
Not to be unkind, but we need to face facts here. So long as a republic represents the will of the brave, it will remain the home of the free. When it’s run by the productive members of society, it will remain prosperous. When it’s governed by the independent minded, it will not be dependent upon anyone. When run by those with a healthy respect for individual rights, special interests will no longer need special consideration.
But when cowards, thieves and thugs run things, those who believe that some progressive form of socialism is better than individual freedom and personal achievement, freedom is diminished. When those seeking to rob the rich in the name of the poor while stuffing their own pockets and growing their own political power run things, then the republic represents cowardly thieves, not the people.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbull.com ...
Those who do not know their history, can not avoid their future. Something about, doomed to repeat the same mistakes, over and over...
This is your point?
Yet, intelliegent people learn from their mistakes, which goes back to the subject of the column, no republic can survive an ignorant electorate...
Not long ago, every American was a leader. That’s before they were dumbed down to followers.
ping
Trick is, a leader needs to get the people behind him and to keep them there by any means he can get away with.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
And that is what we had with the Clinton administration and we probably have the same thing just over the horizon. The point is that if we did not allow any and every knothead to vote we might have an electorate which would not be so easily fooled. Do you honestly believe that a “leader” who will tell any lie or do any deed to get elected is likely to turn out to be the kind of captain we need at the helm after he is elected? I suggest he is far more likely to turn out to be another Clinton, a man who is so obviously a classic con-artist that I am still amazed that he fooled and continues to fool some people.
Yes, we have the best government money can buy ...it’s who you vote against is what counts ...
The opponent then says nothing is free and explains human nature/economics of it all, uses examples etc... the most skillful way as possible.
When election comes around and the electorate embrace falsehoods for truth it would be the opposing candidates fault for not promising enough “free stuff”?
Dang fish go on instinct, the fisherman can always change tactics to adapt, someone who wants something “free”/taken care of cradle to grave is a far more superior and dangerous being than a fish looking for dinner.
The cradle to grave voter will never be swayed by the conservative point of view, their candidate will always have the angle on them.
The only thing that sways the electorate’s mind is life experiences not the candidate themselves. If conditions deteriorate the cradle to grave voter might wise up and say “Hey, where did my paycheck go?” The voter would go from ignorant to informed without any candidates input.
You’re all living in a fantasy world, and don’t even know it, just like those you think of as dumbed down.
Do you really think in our modern, complex world and in our HUGE country, that anyone—even those in the know in Washington—has enough knowledge to understand the real issues?
Like government let’s the average Joe Blow voter have a look at top secret infomation that is critical to the decisions government needs make?
There’s no such thing as a citizen who isn’t dumbed down, who isn’t ignorant—simply because there’s too much to know and some of the most important stuff is top secret.
So, what’s a politician to do except make up issues over which to get the ignorant public (including you and me) stirred up.
So the public debates a lot of nonsense, and the politicians parry and thrust at each other and the most skillful wins the election.
Even though the issues are phony or if real, not very important—the system still works because the most skillful team wins the election.
And having skilled leaders is the most important thing, for if they have the wiles to win an election, we can hope that that have the wiles to face the real problems, about which only those in office can have full knowledge.
It's not that they're ignorant--the electorate has always been ignorant.
The problem is not knowledge at all--never was.
The problem is Americans became too successful, the public got fat and happy and lazy and spoiled and decadent and soft and demoralized.
You could give them all the knowledge in the world and they will still make stupid decisions, because being fat and happy puts people out of touch with the reality of life and what is most important to us.
And stupid decisions will almost always result.
Hence, decline and fall.
To reason, one starts from a belief, even in the face of facts, and arrives at a conclusion consitant with having started from that particular belief.
So no matter what the facts are, belief will trump them anyway.
Take global climate change--where reason takes you regarding that, rests on whether you emotionally want to believe in global climate change--
And that belief has nothing to do with logic--it has everything to do with emotion.
A society and its members struggling to survive, will "reason" about an issue to a certain conclusion,--
While a fat and happy society will "reason" using the same set of facts to a different conclusion.
All of that is beside the point! The point is that we do have citizens who are smart enough to understand the basic, unchanging principles such as, “there is no free lunch”. But if you allow every idiot to vote then you elect people who have zero respect for principles of any kind. This is about not letting those who have no judgement be led around by the nose by demagogues. Citizens who have some degree of discernment are more likely to elect someone who can be trusted with the top secret stuff which cannot be revealed to everyone.
Oh, well, as I said it is impossible to win over an idiot by reasoned discourse.
You really should consider a new user name. Maybe Purveyor of Unreason.
bump
the problem is the stupid box.
my neighbors sit around and watch tv all day.
they believe that they “know everything that’s going on” and
can speak with authority on any subject.
when, in reality not one of them could find uzbekistan on a map.
The electorate do not elect Military personnel, Generals, C.I.A personnel, State Department drones etc... that handle all that stuff. Well trained personnel already comprehend “top secret” material without any candidate’s input.
The electorate do elect people who trade secrets for campaign cash, would have elected a Senator that flushed the investigation down the tubes for a trip on the Space Shuttle, broke all kinds of campaign laws, the wife elected to Senator, the Senator has a realistic shot at the Presidency etc...
I give you that the politicians do appoint leaders in the field but again even those leaders already have real world experience rendering your point mute. Candidate calls the shots but even so, their humility would hopefully take over as they listen to those experts at breaking down top secret material.
If a President gave away top secret information, covered it up, and was running again do you actually think people who vote for this person is innocent? Ignorance is no excuse.
The electorate are not ignorant. They are stupid. They aer not interested in increasing their knowledge about things that effect their freedom. All they care about is American Idol, Brittany Spears, Pharis Hilton and who is screwing them.
Such mundane issues that effect their freedom, they have absolutely no interest in.
Me, Me, Me, and what will the Government give me is all they are interested in.
As for being free and self reliant, who needs it. We want the Government to take care of us.
Now, let’s be fair. The Socialist Democrats have worked very, very hard over the past forty years dumbing down Americans!
*SMIRK*
Of course I find it appalling. You wouldn’t believe the number of politically ignorant or just plain brainwashed people I run into on an average day here in ‘The People’s Republik of Madistan.’ It’s chilling.
Arioch7
I’m afraid you are entirely right!
Well said...
I would believe and it’s chilling here in the bible belt too...
I live amongst a growing community of “Jesus was a commie” freaks...
One problem I noticed during the last several elections: try to find some information about judges before you vote for them, such as a ratings system or how they handled various cases. It’s almost impossible without doing extensive research, and most people don’t have time for that. For instance if a judge is letting rapists, child molesters, repeat violent offenders off with a 2 year sentence, we ought to be able to find out about it without jumping through hoops.
The republic of America has always had an ignorant electorate, it is the ignorant democrat politicians who are destroying our Constitional rights and liberties using the selfish and foolish and misguided ignorant electorate seems to me who are the worst of all. You know, the ones who are always blaming conservatives for the evil that they themselves engendered by departing from the right ways of the LORD and His Christ.
[The founders had it right, accomplished, independent, successful people do a better job of running things, no matter what those things are...]
Many liberals like George Soros and other rich fools who would destroy the Constitutional liberties of Americans fall into the catergory you describe and should never even be allowed to vote. No, our Constitution was set up by Christians who knew and believed God and His Christ and the Word and would never even have allowed ungodly unjust hypocrites to rule over the children of men.
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