Democracy. It's everyone's dream to be living in a democratic society, where your voice is heard, and your opinions matter. However, in the past while, we have discovered that such a democracy does not truly exist. We have leaders ignoring the wishes of the people, going to wars, or passing laws, regardless of what the people truly want.
This is because we have mostly forgotten what democracy is: the most demanding form of government, the most fragile, and the most incompatible with today's culture.
You heard me right. Democracy is the most incompatible form of government in regards to our culture. We want things easy, that's why our level of technology is at the level it is today. Companies are becoming ever more centralized. We are fed a view of "us and them". We want to be able to depend on others. We believe what the media says. And we don't really care what happens to our neighbor, we hardly know who lives next door.
Democracy, however, doesn't work that way. It's more than just voting every few years, but a continuing process, that demands a great deal of maturity.
Democracy cannot exist when you have polarization, which is an "us and them" attitude. Carried to extremes, it can come to the point where both sides believe that working with the other side is impossible. But we must compromize; we must work together.
An example of polarization is the Hippy movement.During the 60s, the entire Hippy movement was fueled by two things: The rejection of society by the Hippies - and the rejection of the Hippies by the rest of society. Both sides were certain that the other side would never understand, and we still feel the repercussions of that.
Another excellent example is the polarization of Canada, where the Liberal Party, (mostly from Eastern Ontario, and Southern Quebec), have painted the people of western Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta as "Different" and "scary". Policies that are seriously detrimental to the western provinces get passed time and again, as Western Canada finds itself unable to obtain a substantial voice in Parliament, and it faces an "Eastern Dictatorship."
Another thing that kills Democracy is reliance on others. Relying on others shows a certain amount of insecurity with ourselves, and we become reluctant to speak up, or learn things for ourselves. But we NEED to be secure in ourselves, we need to be self-reliant. Self-reliance means finding out facts on our own. It means speaking up on issues that concern us, rather than relying on a politician to di it for us. In the community, it means being able to stand on our own, helping each other out, rather than letting things happen, and hoping for the best. Nation-wide, it means being able to be self-sufficient, producing what it needs, and simply exporting surplus, so it does not need to rely on imports.
Such self-reliance would also create a highly decentralized country, which also contributes to Democracy. When things are decentralized, we do not face "Big Business" as we do, when things are highly centralized.
A good contrast of centralized vs. decentralized is found in banking. With most major banks, a central head office approves or disapproves checks, loans, etc. Customer service is often found severely wanting, especially when it comes to personal banking or small businesses.
With a decentralized bank (such as Canada's Credit Union), most branches approve loans, checks, etc, by themselves. Which means that, in a town where everyone knows everyone, a man with good reputation can write a check that leaves him overdrawn, and the bank will pass it, with the assurance that they will soon have the money.
With centralized banking, reputation counts for little, to the frustration of many.
When a government is highly decentralized, then your voice is far less likely to be lost amongst the multitude. Governments are free to deal with issues on a case-by-case basis, close enough to see the details, rather than going over everything with a gigantic, federal paint roller.
Another thing that kills democracy is apathy. Believing that the status quo is tolerable. There is a rhyme that goes:
- If status quo is Latin
- For the current mess we're in
- Maintaining status quo, I guess
- Is ignoring the current mess.
Status quo means the way things are. But if a house is left the way it is, it soon becomes dusty and unkempt. Left "as is" long enough, it will rot away. The same with the democratic society. Democracy needs constant cleanups, maintanence, and rearrangements. And simply voting is not enough. Lending your voice to protests, violating unjust or ineffective laws, or threatening The Establishment with inconvenience also helps Democracy.
All three take a great deal of effort.
Before you protest, be sure you have an alternative to what you are protesting in mind, and know as much about what you are protesting before you give voice to your complaints. This will take research, personal judgement, and thought. But, if you do this, you will speak out, with the knowledge that others are more likely to think you have a valid point.
Violating unjust or inneffective laws is more difficult, because of the risk. First, you must question, "IS this law unjust or ineffective?" You will likely to get in trouble with the authorities, so you must be prepared for that. For an example, let's take the famous Rosa Parks. The law she violated? That she must give up her bus seat for a white person, because she was black.
Was this law unjust? Indeed it was. She was oppressed, due to her race, not because of anything she did. Did she face the music, so to speak? Indeed she did.
And this leads to the third way of protesting: Threatening the Establishment with inconvenience. Inconvenience seems like a rather sappy word, until you realize that being delayed for 6 hours in a traffic jam is also an "inconvenience". It can mean anything from a minor bother, to a serious problem.
Again, we turn to Rosa Parks, and the other Negroes of Montgomery for an example. To protest the segregation law, and Rosa Parks' arrest, other Blacks refused to use public transport. They carpooled, rode bicycles, and, failing all else, walked. And the Montgomery public transport was faced with the inconvenience of going broke, as the Negroes demonstrated that, while public transport needed them, the relationship was not mutual.
Certainly, this required effort from the Negroes. They had to arrange carpools, buy bicycles, or get up early enough to walk, which in itself was a task. But it was effort they willingly put in.
The result? Segregation ended on Montgomery public transport.
This is Democracy at work. The will of the people, forcing the establishment to change through their own efforts.
Another example of threatening inconvenience was in the case of a farmer, who shall remain unnamed, who needed a loan from the bank to keep his cows fed. The bank refused to give him a loan, so finally the farmer got fed up. He loaded his livestock on cattle trailors, drove the works to downtown Calgary (making absolute hash of the traffic) and threatened to turn his cattle over to the bank on the spot (i.e. turn them loose on the street), should they refuse him his loan. After all, he couldn't feed them, so he would let the bank care for them instead.
He had his loan within the hour.
The ineffectual law is just as serious a problem as an unjust law, and can easily become an unjust law. It is the law that exists solely to make criminals of people who do no wrong; laws that make it difficult, or even impossible, to live fully legally.
An example is the Emissions Control Unit, installed on every highway tractor (also called semis) in Canada. The idea behind it was to redirect unburned fuel into the engine, so that the diesel fuel would burn cleaner.
It's a nice theory, but in practice, the ECU has caused nothing but trouble.
First of all, the ECU adds $15,000 to trucks which are already extremely expensive.
Many truckers let their engines idle in cold weather, to keep the diesel fuel warm. Otherwise, the fuel will get so cold it can into gel, which cannot be pumped into the engine.
The ECU, however, will automatically shut off the engine if it has been idling for what it deems to be too long, regardless of weather. The result is that the diesel fuel in the tank will cool down and turn to gel, and the truck will not restart.
One trucker left his truck idling while he slept in the bunk. When he awoke, the ECU had shut the truck off, and the diesel fuel had turned to gel. He was completely unable to start his truck, and it had to be towed back hundreds of miles, to a mechanic shop, which resulted in costly delays for his delivery. He was lucky the heating system was still working, or he would have died in his sleep of hypothermia.
Furthermore, the ECU, while it causes diesel to burn cleaner, cuts fuel efficiency by about a mile per gallon (2 kilometers per liter) or more, which increases running costs, especially long-haul truckers, who regularily drive more than 600 miles (1000 km) a DAY.
Lastly, since more fuel is being burned, whatever benefit the ECU has is lost in the decreased efficiency in the engine.
The only reason these units are used in Canada is there is a $50,000 fine per truck that does not have one. Simply put, the ECU is a cash cow; a requirement with no other purpose than to reap further money from trucking companies.
Ineffectual laws such as this need to be challenged, and the truth about them must be put forward. True democracy demands it.
Knowledge is essential to Democracy. To know the various issues that face the population, and what to do about it. To know a false issue from a real one. One must be able to see when a double-standard is being applied. This requires caring about your country, and a willingness to make the effort to do your own research, balance facts, etc.
Lastly, you must NEVER be afraid to let your morals and values affect what you think or do. That is what morals are for; if you do not let your morals and values get in the way, you are a hypocrite.
Self-reliance, self-confidence, the willing to make the effort to make yourself heard, making sure you know what you are talking about, and accepting the consequences, and holding fast to your morals and values all come under one thing: maturity. Democracy demands a high level of maturity to survive.
It is here, that Democracy becomes incompatible with the culture we live in.
We have downloaders, wanting music for free, music that artists depend on for their livelihood. The RIAA, which refuses to understanded that the filesharing problem is far more complex than they believe. We live in a culture based on pleasure, and making life easier, without the "restraining" values of the past. We deal with a generation still dependent on the older, and an older generation all too willing to support their offspring long past the age of adulthood. We have the same older generation that bows to pressure not to pass on the values of the past and the younger generation, which believes a media that says such values are irrelevant.
We have a nation, split between "us and them", not making the effort to find common ground.
Above all, we have a culture and government that encourages apathy, dependance and reliance on others, polarization, and immaturity. A culture and government that encourage us to take it easy, relax, and enjoy the status quo- a culture and government that discourages real democracy.
The people of the U.S.S.R. fought to gain Democracy, under a far more repressive regime. The people of Ukraine are putting Democracy in action, by protesting a fraudulent election. We know it can be done. What remains is to see that we need to do it, and to get off our rumps, and do it.
After all, a house doesn't fix itself. We need to put in the effort of maintaining it.