What is the biggest threat to democracy? Who or what rules the world? Is democracy for everyone? Can terrorism destroy democracy?Whom would you vote for as President of the World? Are women more democratic than men? What would make you start a revolution? Can democracy solve climate change? Are dictators ever good? Provided there is a god is god democratic?
Inviting answers...
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Democracy has long been applauded, but today we need to examine Why Democracy?Rate this:
 
Published Tue 09 Oct 2007,
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Karl
9 Comments
Who or what rules the world? Money and power
Is democracy for everyone? yes - but it must be earned and learned- it can't be forced
Can terrorism destroy democracy? Yes-
Whom would you vote for as President of the World? No one
Are women more democratic than men? while women might show more of an instinct towards democracy/peace/nurture - it is historically been the men that fight and die on the grand scale for democracy so I don't believe either gender is more or less democratic than the other
What would make you start a revolution? Denial of personal freedom and personal possession- including the money i earn working
Can democracy solve climate change? Nope- its a condition of the earth- we're not that powerful
Are dictators ever good? i am against dictatorship in general but I believe that a good person could become a dictator. the potential is there but i doubt that there would ever really be a benevolent dictator
Provided there is a god is god democratic? nope- i think god is above politics as they are a creation of the human mind
I feel I would agree with your opinion sometime ago, but today, don't you think the unknown... the contingent.... the reactions of people to certain actions.... dont you feel were heading in a direction where thats up there with the age old Money and Power?
and what is the reaction of the people that you speak of? is that the people making the decisions instead of government? Well then, that is a case where the power is in the hands of the people. And perhaps my definition of power needs to be spelled out- i believe its the ability to make a decision, have a resulting action supporting that decision and the follow through to enforce the decision. I don't think there has ever been a true vaccume of power in history and - as history repeats itself- i don't see that it would be any different in the generations to come.
( And then you went on to state) What controls the media? money and power- they want the power to coerce
Let me use an example to further elucidate my point, since the original post didn't make it clear to you.
If country “A”, due to it's actions in the international arena displeases some of its own citizens or those of another country and those disgruntled citizens decide to take violent action against said government in protest. That would be the "the contingent" or the "unknown" I spoke of, that reaction! Now understanding that, maybe I've made it a little more clear...so now you see, the reactions I spoke of in the above example is something the said government could not foresee and had to deal with it as and when it arose...allow policy to change to combat it...adapt to confront it .. this is what I feel governments are preoccupied with today. This is what dictates to governments ( obviously among other things..but today were seeing a lot of the contingent). The unknown.
But yeah you stated something i think people may already know...yeah money...control...coercion...Murdoch...Fox…Citibank…Saudi…falling dollar...
Greed... and our perception OF democracy! Many places believe themselves to be democratic, proclaim themselves as such, but...are not! Reiteration of the line "we love the freedom democracy has given us" from governments, eventually blinds people to what being democratic actually consists of.
Who or what rules the world?
So tempted to say reptilians from the lower 4th dimension. I like David Icke. I especially like his style of writing, although I don't state I thinnk he's right, just that he makes for an interesting read. Actually, I'm also a big illuminanti believer. Any country which has a king or queen will know that this title is passed on by lineage and blood. No qualifications needed, just the right parents / husband / wife! There is no doubting that certain families do have their fingers in one hell of a lot of pies. Look for the people who are making profits out of the state of the world today and you'll have your answer as to who really wields power!
Is democracy for everyone?
People are individuals. That's for them to decide. Communism could work if we were all the same. In fact any form of governing body/ system of life could work. An ideal is an ideal, and as long as the outcome is positive then it should be viable as a system. If communism was indeed for everyone... we'd all be equal. But then.. what power would people be able to gain over others? What profits could be made? Enter.. the afore mentioned Greed, and exit any chance of any system being viable for us all while the possibility of being able to "have" more than the next person exists.
Can terrorism destroy democracy?
No. Amendments allegedly because of terrorism to our human / civil rights and the society we live in can destroy democracy. Attempting to place the blame on one thing detracts from the people taking the decisions which actually Do alter the conditions we live in.
Whom would you vote for as President of the World?
I would probably have as world president the person who added the biblical quote "In my fathers house there are many mansions" (John 14:2), as this is one of the few pieces of religious writings I can actually relate to. It says to me that all types can be accommodated, irrespective of beliefs. Of course... to have him/her as world president he'd need to either be Methuselah, or have had a few reincarnations, preferably not in Tibet though, as that could cause tension with the Chinese! lol.
Are women more democratic than men?
This is a silly question. you're either democratic or you're not. Perhaps the question should be, are women more likely to be democratic than men, and in a startling show of irony and humour I would suggest asking women they think they are, and if more say ask the men what they think, than yes or no, then there's your answer!
What would make you start a revolution?
Someone saying, "Ali, slowly turn, from looking at your 12o'clock, to your 3o'clock...."! *Hum's Tom Morello's : I'm a one man revolution*
Actually, if i truly believed that I had a platform from which I could make a difference, where people could listen, then draw their own conclusions, and if revolution was what was needed for the greater good, I may well say "hand me the megaphone and go get that guy with the loaves and fishes... we may be some time!".
Can democracy solve climate change?
Climate change is a natural occurrence. Mis-information could probably convince vulnerable people looking for personal justification that they could make a difference, but then people looking for personal justification will cling to anything to validate themselves over others.
Are dictators ever good?
There are always, possibilities. The problem is that the needs of the one rarely relate to the needs of the many. If a dictator had the ideal that we should all Live Long and Prosper, and had the ability to Make it So, rather than just personal Enterprise, then it would obviously be viable. But, of course, human nature in the form of Greed rears its head, and a person with the best intentions could easily vulcanise, and orientate themselves around personal gain, while the helpless populous have no leverage to klingon to,
Provided there is a god is god democratic?
How can you have a democracy of one? God, is God. Ergo the social structure we have is not applicable. The ability to alter everything to a state of "Right" but chosing not to do so just for it's own amusement while billions suffer, does however suggest that it / he is a bit of a bastard! Which, when you think about it, ties in with the zillions of religions who seem to have adopted the idea of a virgin birth, where the mother is known but there is no biological father around!
I found your opinion on the question, "Can terrorism destroy democracy?" very interesting. You said, " No. Amendments allegedly because of terrorism to our human / civil rights and the society we live in can destroy democracy".
I agree with you, but hasn't this already begun? And in resisting terrorists haven't Democracies today forgone procedural safeguards ( against warrantless detention, censorship and secret surveylance) that make a democracy what it is.
... if stability and security matter more to you than anything, you might warm to the idea of an absolute sovereign who is strong enough to protect you from your neighbor and protect both of you from foreign enemies. So the former could be, "the need of the many" , but eventually, yes... Greed rears its ugly head.
It baffles me.... How can a country be one of the leading suppliers of oil and still have most of its people live in abysmal poverty? And have them simply accept it with a smile and a phrase...T.I.A...
In the links below, the first is to a commentary about the book, the second is to the book itself. As Bob Altemeyer describes his book, "It’s about how traditional conservatism has nearly been destroyed by authoritarianism."
A portion of his comments is quoted in the commentary _ and that's probably enough to cause many to reject going any further since he says, in effect, why can't those who profess such high ideals see how rotten and corrosive their actions are.
One difference in contrast to many polemics on "the authoritarian right" is that he professes to be basing much of his discourse on "scientific studies" of authoritarian personalities in action. But, one easy way to deny validity for his conclusions is to deny validity for his "studies." Or, to paraphrase a text book on logic, "what care I how authoritative his studies be if they be not authoritative to me?"
So i rather despair of having much impact on THIS discourse but provide the links anyway:
http://www.dailygalaxy.co...7/10/authoritarianis.html
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
You may consider my post to be in part a response as well to the earlier "karl" post: "Americas chance to redeem itself for all the boo boos in the recent past."
Hey you know AdGuy always gets the last word! ;)