Democracy Is An Outdated Concept, by Q. Reyes – Artistic Warfare #11
February 22, 2009 Q. Reyes 5 Comments
Okay, I’m not as beautiful as Tatiana, or have the Asian-appeal of MOTU, but I hope I get some comments, damn it. Why? Because comments make my life meaningful! Well, not really, but I want them, anyway.
Having said that…
Democracy has its roots from way back in the 5th-4th century BC in Greece and it amazes me that a form of government so ancient is the basis to how we live our lives today.
We’ve grown too much, both intellectually and socially, to be guided by a form of government that was proper for societies from ages ago. All we’ve done is attempt to make Democracy better, but obviously this is as far as we’ve gone when it regards to improving this concept of government.
New forms of governments have not been created, formed, or discussed for many years now, and that is truly an unfortunate fact. It is actually frowned upon to even think that there could be a better form of government than Democracy. What a shame.
There are better ways of people governing themselves other than Democracy, and these methods have not yet been developed. Don’t get me wrong, Democracy has served its purpose and has kept us tolerating each other as much as possible, however it wouldn’t hurt to think of new and improved forms of government.
Is the power of the people really the power of the people? Or is it the power of the few elected to rule? Is an ordinary citizen able to be elected to positions of power without having to compromise their ideals to that position? Democracy has many fundamental flaws. Flaws that would be difficult, if not impossible, to remedy with a few amendments. We need a brand new way of thinking.
If we really thought about it, put our heads together and thought of a new form of government that would become all-inclusive, updated, and simply more efficient for our society, I’m sure we would be able to come up with something good.
They say that the first step to recovery is to admit that there’s a problem, and therefore we need to admit that there’s a problem with Democracy. We need to take steps to recover and ensure that future generations of societies are able to benefit from our becoming a progressive society.
I’m not talking about looking back into other methods of governing that have already been tried and developed. I’m speaking of thinking outside the box, and taking a trip way out to left field and creating a brand new system of government that will be most beneficial for our society in the long run.
Through the next few weeks, I will give you snippets of a book I’ve been working on for many years now, regarding the ultimate form of government, which I have titled “La Optima”. La Optima is a revolutionary form of government that will ensure that our government can adjust to our way of life, and not the other way around. I believe it to be a step up from Democracy and I find that its implementation could change the way we view our current role as a collective society for the better.
Comment away now, or be cursed for the next seven days!
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Q. Reyes is a meat-eating vegan who enjoys hunting and wearing fur. Q. enjoys long-walks on the beach, and contributing to the eradication of global warming by being so damn cool. Q. has been given the Presidential Medal of Flyness for his work as God’s Gift to the Ladies.
Martha Thomases
February 22, 2009 - 7:24 am
The best form of government, the one that would solve all the world’s problems, is to do what I say. Unfortunately, I can’t get anyone else on board to support me.
John Tebbel
February 22, 2009 - 11:24 am
One way of looking at human history is as an experiment designed to put together an optimal government. However much skull work the Greeks did it wasn’t until the Enlightenment that any real democracy had a chance and that wasn’t even three centuries ago. And democracies have evolved a lot in that period. The democracies of the 1790s were different than the later models, and the best models have built-in ways to make changes as things go along. If these progressive initiatives short-circuit revolutionary change, that’s great; when you’re in the middle of one, a revolution sucks.
Looking forward to the plan.
Keu, Oh! So Pretty.
February 22, 2009 - 3:05 pm
@ Martha
I support your form of government.
Keu, Oh! So Pretty.
February 22, 2009 - 3:21 pm
@ John
You’re so right… revolution sucks. That’s why our society is built in a way that has made revolution unlikely. This is part of living under the illusion that we actually have a say in how our way of life changes. The truth is that we HAVE TO do what we’re told, and we THINK we have a choice.
We’re given choices… Republican or Democrat (for example). Now you have to chose between the two. There’s nothing anyone, anywhere can do about that… and once they’re elected, there’s nothing we can do about the choices they make in our behalf. Is that democracy?
It goes beyond just politics, however. I’m speaking of the way we live under an illusion of freedom.
John Tebbel
February 23, 2009 - 7:11 am
@Keu
You can make a difference between elections by getting out and getting involved in some of the organizations that actually make things happen in our political system, like your block or community association, your PTA or whatever they call it where your people go to school. There are organizations flogging each side of every issue out there and they are the people that are involved in the details of these issues day in and day out. They need your help to make society work. None of it can work by remote control or by tuning into the news and voting once a year. It’s not easy but it has to be done. You may not have much of a say, but if you’re going to go beyond words you can accomplish a great deal.
Freedom is not an illusion, but it’s not an absolute, either, depending, as it does, upon cooperation to deliver the goods. You’re free to have a car but you’ve got to drive on the roads (on the right hand side, stopping at red lights, keeping off the cel phone, pulling over if there’s an emergency vehicle behind you).
Will you ever know complete freedom? Will any issue ever go completely like you want it to go? No. Not nohow. Part of growing up is accepting this sad, but immutable, fact of existence and working for a better world anyway. It’s a trick of having a brain that we can imagine that we cannot achieve.