Jacques-Louis David
by Kevin Ryan
I just read “Why Didn’t Socrates Like Democracy.” And as it turns out, I don’t like Democracy, either.
Basically, Democracy means we can rule on anything we like, as long as 50% of people say we can. That is about as dangerous a rule as I’ve ever heard. If you can get 51% to agree that government can ban meat, it’s gone. If you get 51% to say everyone leave their house with no pants on, it’s done.
We’ve become increasingly controlling and controlled as a society. In Vermont, specifically, no more incandescent OR fluorescent light bulbs. No more plastic bags or straws. No more food in the trash. No more menthol cigarettes, gasoline powered cars or oil-heated homes coming up next.
These things are none of other people’s business.
But, hey, goes the wisdom…isn’t controlling these things a benefit to society? Maybe. Who cares? What is going to happen next, I assure you, is that enforcement agents will need to be hired to ensure that people comply with all these new bans and rules….and that will all cost money. That money will come from you. Eventually, the enforcement agents will find that YOU did something wrong…then, God help you. This is how wars start and governments destabilize.
Instead, I like Republics. In Republics, no matter how good an idea sounds to control your behavior, they’re not Nike. They can’t just do it.
Wouldn’t it be better if people weren’t allowed to say untrue things anymore ? Yet before you know it, your neighbors will let La Policia know you’re using bad words….you know, like, “The King is a Fink.” This is why we have a First Amendment.
The issue with being “Moderate” politically, is we say, “Well, I mean, a little control is okay, right? After all, we don’t want anyone using foul language or spreading misinformation, do we ?” Next we’re trying to figure out if you get to stay in college if you say that men can’t have babies, or you need to be kicked out and go sweep floors for a living.
Standing in the middle of the road, figuring out what virtues you hold, after you figure out what’s going to be popular with the 51%, inspires nobody.
I suppose you could persuade people to vote for the lesser of two evils once a year by doing so, but I will tell you now, no one will bother to get out of a chair and knock on doors for you, unless they believe that you really believe what you’re talking about, down in your soul.
That takes passion. Passion is not found in the middle, the easy ground.
I like apple pie and puppies, just like you. Tell someone you like apple pie and puppies, they might smile, grunt and go back to what they were doing.
Boring.
Now, try telling someone we need to end public schools. One of two things is going to happen. They will either walk up to you, shake your hand with a big grin and say, “Thank God someone else gets it!” or, their head will spin around and they will try to punch you in the face.
The first guy will walk through a fire for you. The second guy might, I say might, start to think about whether or not public schools are effective for his kids, and if they decide they aren’t so much, may eventually join you and your new-found friend.
That’s how you win. Break people’s patterns of thinking, show them an alternative in a language they already understand and you can now change their way of thinking.
This is what political liberals, or despots do best. Conserve energy…. smart idea, right ? Well, you can do that by turning down your thermostat. Good plan. But why turn it down? In the morning, the toilet seat will be cold.
Well, if we don’t conserve energy, the carbon will build up, heat up the Earth, the cities will flood, and children will die! Why aren’t you turning down your thermostat, Citizen?? It’s time to put a digital monitor in your home to make sure you turn the thermostat down, and if you don’t, off to the gulag !
Oh, and we have 51% support to do this. I hate Democracy.
Discover more from Vermont Daily Chronicle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categories: Commentary
Welcome aboard, Mr. Ryan.
Ah yes, the tyranny of the majority. One of the bones most gnawed upon by our founding fathers. This is where the bill of rights sets us apart from “pure” democracies. Our constitutional republic grants us rights that are recognized as God given, not a boon from a ruler, regardless of his source of office. This is also why the electoral college enrages those who want to control citizens with a 51% popular vote. Not so fast, fellow traveler.
I will disagree with you on the thought that extremism is preferable to compromise. That sows seeds of perpetual conflict as the pendulum swings from one political majority to the next, with joyful repeals of the previous administrations policies as the new one takes power… better to take a 70% win than to sit in the ashes of last year’s total victory.
I’ve got to bring some firewood in. Stay warm.
did you agree to wearing a face diaper/// did you agree to stand six feet apart/// did you agree to taking the covid kill shot/// and the boosters/// did you agree to be locked down in your house/// i am willing to bet that 70 percent of the posters on this site said yes/// prove me wrong///
What? Does that 70% include you, mday44yahoocom?
Prove it.
i was forced to wear the face diaper at the doctors office//i had a message on my diaper to show my objections///that was the only time/// sorry i struck a nerve, but i think i proved a point/// thanks for your comment/// no shot no boosters/// and that i can prove/// wow/// let the truth come forth///
Dear mday44yahoocom,
I challenged myself and I found that being firmly resolved to use the “exceptions” on ALL of the Covid Policies and Mandates including the mandated mask wearing and NOT taking the “Illegally Mandated Covid Shot,” really was possible without being obnoxious. It took creativity and polite, firm assertiveness, but it was possible.
Do you KNOW your Freedoms? How much will you do to keep them?
Did you catch Covid?
Dear Kevin Ryan,
Thank you for taking the time to write and share your view.
How about taking a further step by becoming a candidate in the upcoming Election? We need candidates in ALL positions locally and statewide. Petitions for local government positions are due shortly on January 29th. A very minimal number of signatures are required.
OR, you could choose to be a candidate for a position such as a State Representative or State Senate with Petitions due later this year in May.
What do you say?
to vtbeliever//during that time i had to have three cancer cells removed from three parts of my body/// had this not been the case i would never have gone to the doctors/// i did not have time to fight these…………………………///
This is exactly what Montpelier is proposing for the land lords…….they are taking over their property and leases, without just compensation, controlling their properties…because they are ruling as a democracy, we’ll just vote for what every the hell we like and you’ll be stuck with it.
no covid in my house/// never got sick///
Plato also pointed out another downside to democracy is the rich learn they can pay the politicians for favors rendered and then it’s game over for the people.
Thucydides. “… the rich do what they will, the poor endure what they must.” Nothing new under the sun…
Mr. Pipes, can you recommend an alternative to the free enterprise system?
Can a person truly be deemed to be ‘generous’ and ‘charitable’ and ‘virtuous’ when giving away another person’s possessions?
Don’t forget the day Congress learned it can bribe the public with the public’s money.
After all, who is more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?
An alternative to free enterprise? Replace the system that has raised more people out of poverty, driven medical breakthroughs that have at least doubled most life expectancies, allowed personal freedom and liberty to flourish wherever it is allowed? No, Mr. Eshelman, I’m a fan of the free market. Do you have another solution in mind ?
No, Mr. Pipes, I know of no alternative in which humans thrive so well as in a free enterprise system, governed by the U.S. Constitution. We are fortunate to have a Republic in which we all, rich and poor alike, still have the freedom to do what we will and endure what we must. And I pray we can keep it.
Same goes for what we choose to eat, drink or smoke in the privacy of our own homes… and a lot of the people who claim to love liberty don’t support that with their vote.