Democracy inaction

Democracy for America Now!

September 23, 2005

 

When one looks back in history at the best forms of government, certainly our form, democracy, is the best, right? Well, sure, but that and a token will get you on the subway. And the subway doesn't even take tokens anymore. Democracy is great, and we all love it, ok. So shut up already. But what we don't love is Rightwing jingoism. Especially when it's used to marginalize dissent. Why that's downright undemocratic. And no matter how much of a nationalistic fervor we work up, we can't ignore Bush and Co's undemocratic leanings, just like we can't ignore the fact that large portions of a country can be underrepresented in the government. When we love our country, we love all the people (well maybe with the exception of Rush and Ann).

MYTH: Since democracy is hands-down the best form of government man has ever thought up, America is perfect. Therefore anyone who criticizes Bush is a commie-fag-junkie

Democracy is still the best possible, yes, but more than that, it deserves to be called "good" in its own right, not just by comparison….

We have, for example, the evidence of the "democratic peace": Democracies do not go to war with each other. We're rather used to that fact by now, but we ought to pause from time to time to admire it for what it is, namely, the greatest political achievement in history. To be able to adopt a form of government that eliminates the possibility of war with those nations of like government? That's a big deal….

Even in a successful democracy, governments sometimes perform badly, especially in extreme tests. Still, you don't find citizens of democratic countries talking about giving up their right to vote in order to be ruled by a wise king, a council of elders or the faculty of Harvard. Democracy works for us, and that's settled….

--Tod Lindberg, “Good, Bad and Ugly,” Washington Times, 9/13/05

REALITY

Okay, first let’s dispel the “no 2 democracies have ever gone to war against each other myth.” This link contains a comprehensive list of the wars that have been waged between 2 democratic nations, ranging from the Greek Wars in the 4th and 5th centuries BC to the 4th Indo-Pak War in 1999. Let’s also not forget the American Civil War. . . Second,strickly speaking, the United States is NOT a democracy. It never has been. The United States is a republic, which is a state or country having a government whose political power depends solely on the consent of the people governed.

But the real point here is the extreme brashness of the Right. Using jingoism to blur the facts and marginalize dissent is the hallmark of facists. When they preach that democracy is the greatest form of government ever devised and the United States is the perfect example of a functioning democracy, they do so to cloud unpleasant truths that a great nation must confront. One has to look no farther than the ridiculous 2000 Presidential election to be reminded of the flaws in our electoral process. Can a country really claim to be a model republic or democracy when the candidate with the most votes loses the election?

America is great, however democracy and republicanism have flaws. Great thinkers through the ages have seen this, why can’t today’s Right? Winston Churchill once stated that "the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" and that "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried." Even Ben Franklin was recorded as saying that "democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" It is in confronting our flaws that we create a "more perfect union."

The other big piece of information that Lindberg has chosen to ignore, of course, is the fact that all democracies have eventually failed. Look at Sparta and Athens. How can a form of government be declared “the best” if it does not have a proven track record of success? It is quite possible that our modern form of democracy, which has taken hold in many countries around the world, will out perform its predecessors, but it is certainly too soon to tell. And it is certainly too soon to declare democracy the king of the world.