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My concern is how these idiots will react once reality is undeniable. My guess is they will do what the masses have always done - turn to the “man on the white horse” who promises them answers to their problems and a bright future. The decent from that point on will be precipitous.
A scenario the founders were very aware of - and that such would recur, regardless of how they attempted to avoid it.
Odd as it may sound, over the last couple of generations, we have removed many of the constitutional barricades intended to prevent a broadly popular demagogue from destroying the republic. For example, we believe in direct representation in voting for the president, the figure most capable of becoming a tyrant, not an executive, a belief which the founders strongly thought dangerous.
"For example, we believe in direct representation in voting for the president, the figure most capable of becoming a tyrant, not an executive, a belief which the founders strongly thought dangerous."
That's actually not quite true. The fiction of the electoral college was a product of slavery, allowing the 3/5's of a human standard for representation to be incorporated not only in the house of representatives, but also in the election of the president. It was a compromise, designed to insure that slave holding states had more than their fair share of representation in the election of the president. Prior to the Civil War, nearly all of the presidents came from slave holding states.
But, I agree that in the past six years we have seen the wholesale destruction of our constitutional safeguards. This destruction is not intended to allow a broadly popular demogague from becoming president, but to allow a corporately controlled government of the wealthy and by the wealthy to operate for the wealthy.
Though you are correct, you do realize that most American citizens who could vote in the first years of the Constitution were white males with property - most Americans were not allowed to vote, and this was considered proper by those creating the system, in part to hinder the rise of a tyrant. It took several amendments, stretching literally over centuries, before most Americans could vote - and even today, we see the massive effort expended to ensure that many citizens legally entitled to vote are denied that right.
I have also left out the rise of a standing military, another danger likely to lead to tyranny in the eyes of the founders.
My concern is how these idiots will react once reality is undeniable.
Idiots R US, not just Them. But, it does little good to just condemn the people for their ignorance. It has been possible to live a decent life here without paying too much attention to anything going on in the world. This has not been possible in other parts of of the world, especially the third world. The "idiocy" has been induced by the media, the gov't and our whole consumerist orientation. Suburbia, the interstate highway system, the destruction of public of transportation in the cities -- none of these were choices made by the people. These things were matters of design in some large degree.
My guess is they will do what the masses have always done - turn to the “man on the white horse” who promises them answers to their problems and a bright future. The decent from that point on will be precipitous.
I share your concern here: in particular, right now the populace is not overly thrilled with the war agenda despite having a very foggy picture of what's going on in the world. The economy is already heavily dependent on military expenditure. Once the economy tanks, the government may come much closer to openly embracing PO: if you want to continue as is, we must fight to take it.
The alternative, restructuring our whole way of life and working with the rest of the world to face up to the problems we face as a species, will not be presented.
SMALL TOWN CALLED EARTH
We live in a small town
you and I.
We used to think
we lived in separate cities,
but we don't.
We used to think
we could move
if this town
burned down.
But we can't.
We make it here
or don't.