Democracy is a Poison Word

“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority.”

Henry David Thoreau wrote that in his essay titled ‘Civil Disobedience’. He makes the point, more than once, that the notion of going by what a majority decides, regardless of what may be right or wrong, is absurd. Of course it is! There is no question as to whether or not the majority can be wrong or plain idiotic. Look at history and you will see that the majority are the ones who were convinced the earth was the centre of the universe. The majority were the ones who, for a long time, thought having a darker skin colour made you a lesser breed of human. Are these things scientifically correct? Are they moral? No. They are no more than the majority’s opinion and yet they rule.

Now allow me to say something that will shock and disgust many people: Democracy is a failure. I said it and I’ll happily say it again. Democracy is a failure.

We’ve not only seen that the majority can be wrong or unjust but we’ve also seen that the majority can easily be manipulated. Here’s what you probably have heard about democracy:

• Democracy is fair and just.

• Democracy gives power to the people.

• Democracy lets you have a say and lets your voice be heard.

• Democracy is loved by every nation that endorses it.

The truth is different. Democracy is a lie wrapped up in the shiniest christmas wrapping paper K-Mart has to offer. Democracy is a system where all the people come together and make a choice. They don’t give an opinion at all, they make a choice. What choice? They choose between a set of alternatives given to them by someone else. You have to pick the one you like most and if you don’t actually agree with any of the choices then that’s just tough shit. Then the votes are counted and if you’re not on the side of the majority then you are promptly ignored.

Where’s your power now, people?

Democracy is a nice sounding word, isn’t it? Democracy doesn’t sound harsh or cruel. Democracy doesn’t have any sharp edges on it. You could probably cuddle with democracy and sleep warm and safe at night. Well it’s a good thing the word is so nice because it can be thrown in your face by the media and glorified until you’re convinced democracy is the one and only way to get things done. Do you know why? Because democracy does give power to people. Democracy lets you decide who gets to have power over you. You get to choose your dictators with democracy. Sometimes you don’t even get that privilege because those dictators always have the option of cheating the system and raping your so-called “rights”. What do you do about it when this happens? Nothing! Because the media has told you democracy is the one and only religion and you have to go along with it. That’s why democracy is a poisonous word. You swallow it whole and it makes you deaf, dumb and blind to what’s really happening.

Your dictators like it that way, though. Perhaps I misspoke when I said democracy is a failure. So far democracy has had unmatched and unchallenged success.

What is democracy, really? It’s a vehicle for the most corrupt men to gain more wealth and more power than any person or group should have. Democracy is the soap-box that these men stand on and tell you all the things you want to hear. They will tell you about how much they love their family, just like you; they’ll tell you how they love their God, just like you; they’ll tell you how much they love low taxes, just like you! The masses listen to these snakes who drive democracy and they react with cheers and thundering applauds. You’ve been suckered, my friends.

First the media has told you that democracy is the one true religion and that it will save you from all the horrors of the world. Then the wealth and corrupt snakes take to the stands and give you your democracy and all the power you need to choose between one snake bite or another. Then the majority makes a choice and regardless of how just, moral or intelligent that choice is we have to go with it. Is that power? If you had real power you could choose not to have any of them. But that is blasphemy and we must not question the sanctity of our democracy. What happens if we do that? Well if you don’t know it’s a good thing we have CNN to tell us about how much South America and the Middle East are suffering without democracy. The media has shown you the light again.

Is it all bad? Surely we must get something for our democracy? Surely the lies lead to some good? You really want to know what it is you get when you sign your soul over to the devil? I’ll tell you.

You get to be lazy. You get to sit with your Big Mac in front of The Simpsons and rest assured knowing that the dictators you chose will take care of everything. They’ll make sure you’ve still got enough power to choose. What do you get to choose now? You get to choose if you want to eat rice grown in China or pineapples grow in Hawaii. You get to choose between a German car or a Japanese car. You get to choose between paying your tax to fun a war you don’t agree with or going to prison because you didn’t support the dictator you never even voted for. How does your power taste, people? How are you liking your deal with the devil?

So maybe you don’t get as much power as the TV told you you did with democracy. But at least you can always go back to watching the WWF twenty-four hours a day on cable TV. That is until the government decides it doesn’t like that either. The government knows best, after all. Doesn’t it? It must do. The government must know best because the majority put it there and the majority is right by merit of having the most numbers. Right? It all makes sense, right?

Who cares? Just have another Big Mac.

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