Do the citizens of a democracy have the right to know what their government is doing in their name (and with their money)?
Tag Archives: Freedom - Page 2
Thinking Point #6
Posted by Robert M. Brown
on December 7, 2010
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The First Amendment to the US Constitution
Posted by Robert M. Brown
on November 16, 2011
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“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
That is what was written a couple of centuries ago. Now, we live in a country where bribing politicians is Constitutionally protected free speech, but peaceably assembling to petition the government for a redress of grievances will get you swarmed with riot police.
Have a nice day.
James Shelley on Citizenship
Posted by Robert M. Brown
on December 6, 2011
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James Shelley, interesting as always, has a piece up today on citizenship in the digital age. He is quite right in practically everything he says there, but I think there’s a point he’s missing.
Things may be different in whatever European Socialist country James lives in (that’s a joke; he lives in Canada), but here in the good old US of A we don’t go in for that ‘democracy’ stuff.
“Democracy is not simply about elections: it is about collectively exerting our collective influence for our collective good.”
Yes, yes; all true. The problem is that in the US (and, all joking aside, it may be different in other western democracies, but I don’t think it’s much different), the great mass of citizens have no collective influence. Not only do we have no say in government policy, as likely as not we are not even told what government policy is, or the reasons for it. (All in the name of ‘security’ of course. Whose security they don’t say.)
Democracy is reduced to ticking boxes on an election ballot because that is all we have, and even that is a farce. Like a Roman citizen of the 3rd century, we can dutifully elect our Praetors and celebrate our Consuls, and pretend that those things matter, but the real power is in the hands of a handful of people who pay no attention to the needs or voice of the masses, and they are not going to give it up willingly.
Before we can exercise our collective influence, we must take it back. That process took about 1800 years after the fall of the Roman Republic. I hope we can move a little more quickly this time.
Our War On Us
Posted by Robert M. Brown
on August 21, 2012
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Dan Rutter has a nice review of a bad war movie. From his perspective, safely thousands of miles away from the US Government, he makes some cutting points about how our propaganda machine is merging the War on Terror and the War on Drugs, two great tastes that taste great together (to someone, anyway).
As I’ve been saying for years, no number of foreign terrorists who ‘hate our freedom’ can do anything about it. Only we can, and our domestic ruling class who hate your freedom seems eager to do just that.
A Bad Moon Rising
Posted by Robert M. Brown
on November 30, 2016
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Democracy is in crisis, all around the world.
I remember the morning of 9/11/2001, talking to a friend on the phone while watching the World Trade Center crash over and over again into a cloud of dust and rubble. I said to my friend, “Well that’s the end of the Republic.”
Fifteen years later, I see no reason to retract that statement. The United States is in the last stages of the democratic republic we’ve had for more than 200 years. The institutions still exist in name, but the function has largely changed. We’re at that awkward stage where one form government has passed, but the new one hasn’t settled in yet. We’re still working out what kind of country we’re going to be next.
This shouldn’t shock anyone. In the ten thousand or so years that we’ve had governments there hasn’t been one yet that lasted forever without changing. The US has already changed governmental structure once.
The most interesting thing about that particular study to me is the bit about how about 1 in 6 Americans are now okay with the Army running the country. Only 19% of millennials think it would be illegitimate if the Army were to take over from a dysfunctional civilian government.
This, I suppose, is supposed to shock us, but to me it’s about the most blindingly obvious political development in ages. We’ve spend decades telling everyone that every soldier is a hero, that soldiers are good, virtuous, and capable, and at the same time telling everyone that politicians are evil, corrupt, and incompetent. Of course a lot of people are okay with the Army kicking out the politicians and taking over.
People in Egypt a few years ago thought the same thing. It did not, unfortunately, work out as they’d hoped.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Government Lies
Posted by Robert M. Brown
on January 22, 2017
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Absurd and obvious lies by government mouthpieces are no laughing matter. Such lies serve two very important purposes for a repressive–or would-be repressive–regime.
First, they create an official reality, a government-approved version of events that is the only officially acceptable version.
Second, it creates an opportunity for loyalists and the disloyal to identify themselves. People who repeat the ‘official’ version of events, who spread the lie, are the party loyalists who can be counted on. Those who call out the lie mark themselves as disloyal, enemies of the state.
The loyal and disloyal quickly come to live in two different worlds, with very different views of what has happened. Not just why, or by whom, but the actual events themselves. This further divides the population.
At this point, in the United States, the new regime is just testing the waters. Over the next four years we may well see loyalists encouraged to take note of those who are disloyal. They could be turned into an arm of their Party, turning in the disloyal, counter-marching at protests, providing enthusiastic crowds at The Leader’s rallies.
The disloyal could find themselves excluded from certain jobs. It could start with government jobs, where an unofficial loyalty test becomes a condition of employment. Then some private sector organizations will take up the trend. Or perhaps, with a few words of encouragement from the regime, the private sector will take the lead. In either case, the loyal will be rewarded and the disloyal punished.
I hope we do not make it to the next stage, where the disloyal begin to disappear, but that is up to us. Be aware. Be vigilant. Do not let the absurdity of what the regime’s mouthpieces say distract you from the very serious purpose that underlies those absurdities.