- Reaction score
- 35
- Points
- 560
Slow down there, fellow. Your anger at the rot we see all around us may be justified, but it is also blinding you to where some of the problems lie.
A. Political parties have existed for centuries, and before them were various groupings all based around common interests. Athenian democracy was swayed to a large extent by the "Navy gang", large numbers of professional oarsmen who manned the fleet and were responsible for both the security of Athens and projecting power into the Aegean. (Oarsmen as slaves were not common until the 1400's)There were also landowners, Hoplites, Aristocrats and artisans who had divergent interests from the Navy gang. The Athenian practice of selecting executive positions by random drawings (by lot) was an attempt to prevent or at least reduce the possibility of one large group dominating the governing process. Even if there were a thousand oarsmen in the assembly to cast a vote, it wasn't always the oarsmen who were in the executive positions of the Eklessia or Boule.
If you could abolish political parties today, tomorrow morning I would be finding people with common interests to combine forces. This is really what a political party is.
B. "The first thing we do, lets kill all the lawyers" (King Henry the Sixth, IV, ii 86); "Woe unto you Lawyers" (Luke 11:52). Dislike of lawyers goes back a long way (Luke wrote in late Roman times, Shakespear in the 1500's). This may be driven by envy, as well as the loosing party in a dispute will blame the lawyer as the agent of his/her misfortune. Lawyers are people, and thus subject to the same forces and emotions we all are. The fact that some people who go into politics fall victim to temptation and greed is simply a human failing. This might happen to you or I if the curcumstances are correct.
C. The root cause (courtesy of Wikipedia):
"Another interesting insight from the Athenian democracy comes from the law that excluded from decisions of war those citizens that had property close to the city's wall on the basis that they had a personal interest in the outcome of such debates because the practice of an invading army was at the time to destroy the land outside the walls. Clearly, the first democrats understood politics as a process in the interests of the entire demos where private interests had no place. This contrasts with current understanding that the pursuit of private or sector/professional/financial interests are an integral part of the political process. A good example of the contempt the first democrats felt for those who did not participate in politics can be found in the modern word 'idiot' that finds its origins in the ancient Greek word á¼°Î'ιώτης (idiÃ…?tÄ“s) meaning a private person, a person who is not actively interested in politics; such characters were talked about with contempt and the word acquired eventually its modern meaning."
Clearly the Liberals and their friends preffer you and I to remain "private persons, not actively interested in politics". Low voter turnout and the lack of response to blatant outrages like Adscam must seem like dreams come true for Mr Dithers and Co. I want you all to mark your calendar the day the Gomery report comes out. Anyone willing to bet there WILL be an election called 30 days after the date of the report? Anyone willing to bet there will be a huge outpouring of popular protest if the "promise" of an election is ignored?
That, my friends, is the real reason we get the "Government" we deserve; not enough people come out and take action any more. Passive/aggressive spoiling of the ballot doesn't help matters, and saying there is no party that represents you is nonsense, you can find a big tent party that supports some of your views (or similar views, i.e. Conservatives and Libertarians), join a smaller party (the Marxist -Leninist party really needs your help), or run yourself (maybe a lot of people will agree with your views). Don't end up as an "Idiot".
A. Political parties have existed for centuries, and before them were various groupings all based around common interests. Athenian democracy was swayed to a large extent by the "Navy gang", large numbers of professional oarsmen who manned the fleet and were responsible for both the security of Athens and projecting power into the Aegean. (Oarsmen as slaves were not common until the 1400's)There were also landowners, Hoplites, Aristocrats and artisans who had divergent interests from the Navy gang. The Athenian practice of selecting executive positions by random drawings (by lot) was an attempt to prevent or at least reduce the possibility of one large group dominating the governing process. Even if there were a thousand oarsmen in the assembly to cast a vote, it wasn't always the oarsmen who were in the executive positions of the Eklessia or Boule.
If you could abolish political parties today, tomorrow morning I would be finding people with common interests to combine forces. This is really what a political party is.
B. "The first thing we do, lets kill all the lawyers" (King Henry the Sixth, IV, ii 86); "Woe unto you Lawyers" (Luke 11:52). Dislike of lawyers goes back a long way (Luke wrote in late Roman times, Shakespear in the 1500's). This may be driven by envy, as well as the loosing party in a dispute will blame the lawyer as the agent of his/her misfortune. Lawyers are people, and thus subject to the same forces and emotions we all are. The fact that some people who go into politics fall victim to temptation and greed is simply a human failing. This might happen to you or I if the curcumstances are correct.
C. The root cause (courtesy of Wikipedia):
"Another interesting insight from the Athenian democracy comes from the law that excluded from decisions of war those citizens that had property close to the city's wall on the basis that they had a personal interest in the outcome of such debates because the practice of an invading army was at the time to destroy the land outside the walls. Clearly, the first democrats understood politics as a process in the interests of the entire demos where private interests had no place. This contrasts with current understanding that the pursuit of private or sector/professional/financial interests are an integral part of the political process. A good example of the contempt the first democrats felt for those who did not participate in politics can be found in the modern word 'idiot' that finds its origins in the ancient Greek word á¼°Î'ιώτης (idiÃ…?tÄ“s) meaning a private person, a person who is not actively interested in politics; such characters were talked about with contempt and the word acquired eventually its modern meaning."
Clearly the Liberals and their friends preffer you and I to remain "private persons, not actively interested in politics". Low voter turnout and the lack of response to blatant outrages like Adscam must seem like dreams come true for Mr Dithers and Co. I want you all to mark your calendar the day the Gomery report comes out. Anyone willing to bet there WILL be an election called 30 days after the date of the report? Anyone willing to bet there will be a huge outpouring of popular protest if the "promise" of an election is ignored?
That, my friends, is the real reason we get the "Government" we deserve; not enough people come out and take action any more. Passive/aggressive spoiling of the ballot doesn't help matters, and saying there is no party that represents you is nonsense, you can find a big tent party that supports some of your views (or similar views, i.e. Conservatives and Libertarians), join a smaller party (the Marxist -Leninist party really needs your help), or run yourself (maybe a lot of people will agree with your views). Don't end up as an "Idiot".
has maintained on of the best health care systems and it worked, but now thanks to the mismanagement of the public infrastructure dollars it is in pretty rough shape. The question is why were "your and our tax dollars wasted on worthless projects, done in the name of "government" by some self serving political party? Could it be that these parties realize that if they drain the or waste the infrastructure funds, it make it easier to turn over a perfectly good system to their friend? 
