The modern Democracy Fetish

wolf_and_lamb

What is Democracy? First, let me quote James Madison, John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams….

Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.’
– James Madison

Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.
– John Adams

[T]he experience of all former ages had shown that of all human governments, democracy was the most unstable, fluctuating and short-lived.
– John Quincy Adams

[D]emocracy will soon degenerate into an anarchy; such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes and no man’s life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure, and every one of these will soon mould itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues and intellectual abilities, all the powers of wealth, beauty, wit, and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the execrable [abominable] cruelty of one or a very few.
-John Adams

This Democracy fetish developed during the 20th century. Prior to that, Americans didn’t believe democracy was a panacea. The Founders established Constitutional republic in which the rights and liberties of minorities are protected from the passions of the masses. They saw Americans as individualistic, self-reliant, modest in their national ambitions, suspicious of the passions of the masses and in need of little from any sort of central bureaucracy. The Founders also believed that rights of private property were critical and that people should be left to enjoy the fruits of their own labor. The Founders didn’t give a damn for Democracy, they were advocates of liberty.

I share their views. Liberty and freedom have been long eroding in America. How can we protect liberty in America? By voting Republican? All the Republicans offer is a slower, more orderly march toward servitude. Look, with each and every law passed in Washington, our lives are more regulated. Government doesn’t force us to do much, but it prevents us from doing quite a lot.

Socialized medicine is designed to make us dependent on the government for health care. I may never need a liver transplant, but I will live my life in a world where the government will be the final arbiter as to whether or not would get it if I need it. That’s the way it works. Year after year more laws are passed until we are immersed in regulations of everything we do. We don’t tug at our leash because we believe that the government that holds it is accountable to us. It isn’t accountable to me or you, however. It is accountable to groups of millions. Millions of petty tyrants are as oppressive as one tyrant.

Once upon a time the constitution restrained the federal government. It doesn’t anymore. The government seizes a greater and greater amount of the nation’s wealth. As the private sector sheds jobs by the millions, the government grows. Government jobs pay, on average, twice what jobs in the private sector pay. The government, however, creates no wealth. It is merely a parasitical outgrowth supported by the private sector it dominates.

It grows. It increasingly controls and regulates its host. So how will we stop it? Vote Republican? Nonsense. The Republicans promise only to be more efficient as they deliver bread and circuses to the masses. Until Obama, Bush oversaw the greatest increase in governmental power. Even Reagan expanded the government. There is no turning back at this point. Most of America doesn’t want to turn back anyway.

Orwell thought totalitarianism was a jackboot in the face. It isn’t always that way. Sometimes totalitarianism is nothing more than a vacant, distracted, clueless populace on the dole. Welcome to the Brave New World.


6 Responses
  1. BarbaCat :

    Date: October 26, 2009

    A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.
    – Edward R. Murrow

  2. R.D. Walker :

    Date: October 26, 2009

    Barb: The national government only loves people in groups of a million or more. You cannot be free if, because you live in a democracy, your neighbors vote to take your property and liberty away from you.

  3. Notamobster :

    Date: October 26, 2009

    Alexis de Tocqueville:

    “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”

    or this gem:

    “When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.”

    Better stated: When the fire of liberty, no longer illuminates the minds of men, the republic is doomed!

  4. Vanagram :

    Date: October 26, 2009

    A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.
    –Thomas Jefferson

    And how about this for accurate forecasting by H. L. Mencken almost 90 years ago:

    “As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their hearts desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

    –The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920

  5. BaconNeggs :

    Date: October 26, 2009

    RD I think many people get confused about the true meaning of various political ideologies, be it Facsism or Democracy which you have written about so well.

    Professional politicians have over used the word “Democracy” to the point where all it now represent is the simple ability to vote and have some free expression within the bounds of the law.

    I am pleased that you also pointed out the flawed policies of recent Republican governments who have been just as bad as any Socialist in certain regards.

    Modern Neo-Conservatives seem to blend elements of socialism and facism so that today many Conservatives are confused as to what is actually Conservatism, as they try to be loyal to their political party first and foremost.

    In fairness many cite “lesser of the evil” and having no option but to choose the best from a sorry bunch.

    The Founding Fathers of the American Republic you mentioned had a simple clarity of what was Rebulicanism and Conservatism which is desperately needed today. People are desperate for geniune Republicanism and Conservatism and to just live their lives as indivduals.

    Particularly so when Socialism is a family of snake that takes on many guise including Democracy and choice to slowly coil itself around unsuspecting people who trust big government before it eventually crushes them.

  6. Notamobster :

    Date: October 27, 2009

    “I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom. Until we can reestablish a condition under which the earnings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty.” –President Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)

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