Scragged?

By Petrarch
Published: July 21, 2007, 09:03 AM

 "... and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

--A. Lincoln

The United States of America is the world's oldest continuously operating representative democracy.   For almost two and a quarter centuries, common people of this land have had the right and ability to choose how they shall be governed.  This sounds like quite an achievement in longevity, and in a sense, it is.  But consider a little perspective.

A wooden church in Norway was constructed in the 1100s, and can be visited today.

There is a private construction contracting firm in Japan which has been in continuous operation for almost 1500 years. 

The city of Damascus, Syria, is generally considered to have been continuously occupied for around 4000 years.

People have been around for a long time, and at least through recorded history, so have governments.  Why, then, does 200 years hold any sort of longevity record?

Our Founders believed that the American people had the wisdom to choose good leaders for themselves.  This has worked fairly well over the years, with some ups and downs.  The key point is that our country is not supposed to be an aristocracy - that is, where a small, powerful elite knows better than everyone else, and runs the show by themselves.  If ever there was a group qualified by birth, by education, and by wisdom, to run a country as an aristocracy, it would be our Founding Fathers.  But they chose not to - they considered that the collective wisdom of the American people, was superior to the wisdom of any small group, even themselves.

The Founders did believe in an aristocracy, all right - a "natural aristocracy."  That is, any American could, through his own efforts, talents, and skills, raise himself up to the highest heights, chosen by his fellow Americans.  In that way, America's leaders would always be America's finest - but would, by the requirements of their rise to the top, reflect the desires and needs of the American people.  They designed this system, in large part, because of their experience with the hereditary monarchies of Europe, and the high-quality leaders produced thereby.

Is this what we're seeing in our country today?  It certainly doesn't seem so.  69% of the electorate want to see illegal immigrants prosecuted and deported.  And yet, our government came within a hair's breadth of passing legislation (June 2007) doing the exact opposite and granting them legal residency immediately, though they tried to conceal it.  Similarly, a majority of Americans want us out of Iraq (July 2007) - and yet, not only isn't that happening, our Commander in Chief barely even attempts to persuade Americans otherwise.

And the Fourth Estate is no better. Two-thirds of Americans believe the media is biased.  Only 40% of Americans even expect journalists to tell the truth.

These are not new trends.  They have been building for a long time.  It's difficult to know exactly, considering the natural nostalgia for the past, but there certainly seems to be a great and growing disconnect between the people of these United States, and those who presume to rule over them - not just in government, but in other elite positions such as the media.

Thanks to the Internet, though, every man is his own press. This site allows us (metaphorically speaking only, of course) to do what most Americans want to do to our elites:

tr.v.   scragged, scrag·ging, scrags Slang
To wring the neck of; strangle.

Happy reading, and may God bless Americans.

 - The Editors 

 

 
Petrarch is a contributing editor for Scragged.  
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Reader Comments

  • Robert N. Knox said:
    We are referred to as a democratic form of government. Atually we should be referred to as a representitive form of government. If we are a citizen we can vote. Registration for voting in a community where you live is required to attempt to ensure honesty in the voting process. When you vote you choose whom you want to represent you in the office designated in the ballot.
    February 10, 2008 10:05 PM
  • Nelson Lee Walker said:
    VOTERS AND NON- VOTERS, LISTEN UP! (text)

    Our dysfunctional Congress is the direct result of an apathetic voter population, which in turn, is the direct result of the absence of term limits.

    Voters who really want an effective, responsible Congress, are turned off from voting because they feel voting is a meaningless exercise, since Congress is chock full of permanent, careerist, professional politicians, who are principally concerned with reelection first, good government last.

    These politicians don’t want to do a civic duty. They only want a well paid job, which has generous benefits, no boss, is non-accountable, has a large staff, many perquisites, and possible lifetime tenure. And to get this, all they have to do is ‘con’ voters into always reelecting them.

    Toward this end, the incumbents carefully manage their voting records and speeches to nurture the special interest groups who give them the most financial and electoral support for the next election. And they are succeeding. Reelection rates for the House are 98%, the Senate is 90%.

    So the responsible voter says “What’s the use?”, and doesn’t vote.

    In the early 1900’s, reelections averaged in the 60% range
    In the 1960’s, House reelections averaged about 90%, voter turnout was about 62%, .
    After 2000, House reelections reached 98%, voter turnout was down to about 50%.
    I predict that when reelection rates reach 100%, voter turnout will plunge to below 35%.
    And Congress will still stand rock-solid against term limits!

    That will be the beginning of the end of our liberty, and our once great republic.

    There is only one way to correct this slide into national oblivion. It requires the American voter to take back Congress. We can do it, simply. It only requires determination.

    First, we must, all of us, always vote, in every election. We must raise voter turnout from the current 50% level to over 80%. In every Congressional election.

    Second, and most importantly, we must never reelect incumbents. Good or bad. We must always vote for challengers. Also good or bad. We must give up our party and incumbent loyalties, and concentrate on achieving a 100% turnover in Congress. We can do it in 3 elections. The whole House and 1/3 of the Senate is up every two years.

    In reality, only a substantial partial success is required. When the media and the pols see the trend, they will panic. And new freshmen, seeing the trend, will then vote the way the voters want them to vote.

    We can always go back to voting for our party and a favorite candidate AFTER we take back the Congress and install Term Limits. If we don’t win this battle soon, we will eventually no longer have any choice on who to vote for. We’ll have a fully permanent Congress. And it will be our fault!

    I'm Nelson Lee Walker of tenurecorrupts.com
    June 3, 2008 5:11 PM

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