I am with you. We should take POWER seriously, and in addition to civics power literacy should be taught.
Because voting and the entire Western civilization rests on the bottom up people power.
It’s like when pirates had true democratic governance before any country did. Because each pirate was willing to kill every other pirate in their sleep, and they each knew that about themselves and each other, and made a rational decision to vote. But imagine if most pirates were NOT willing to kill, and this unwillingness was also well known? Why the fuck would they each get a vote then? Think about it.
That’s the thing - we shouldn’t all have a vote. The founding fathers warned us about if we did: the elites would sway those who most easily prostrated and gave themselves up to that, hence power would go to those most willing to do precisely that.
That is why the USA was called an “experiment” in democracy - it was a test, not assured that we would make it. The fact that we have come this far by no means acts as a guarantee that we have the ability to go any further. And somehow the people who routinely fall for chain email scams are the ones in charge.
What made it work, in the past, was that the elites enjoyed the fiction of allowing people to vote - they were pacified, and the real stuff got done regardless, however they wished. However, now with globalization and automation, that precept is no longer true. Mega-corporations don’t need or want much of an educated workforce, least of all one that acts entired, demanding a higher share of profits.
I see government itself becoming less relevant than it used to be, as multinational corporations amass more power than those are allowed to retain. But to the extent they are allowed to continue existing, they become a tool of those in power to exert even further control. Meanwhile we talk as if We The People are in charge, but the more the masses say that, the less true it is. Especially when they refuse to even so much as read a book or watch a video about how things really are. They prefer to watch sports or reality TV shows, confident that big daddy will give them everything they hoped for, not realizing that what they deserve is so, so much ah… different.
Things are going to change, that’s for sure, as we settle into a new equilibrium that better matches the updated set of circumstances that we see now and expect to come soon.
Anyone who takes the time to educate themselves on the issues should get a vote. But if you don’t even want to be aware that there are 3 branches of government, and like what their names are then… the vote is worse than unhelpful, it becomes an echo of the people who are trying to bring the system down. Then nobody gets a vote, especially when votes themselves are done away with.
Once voting becomes conditional, it’s a precedent and then it will invite all kinds of people to adjust the conditions, to apply conditions selectively, etc.
A universal suffrage is much more defensible and harder to abuse.
Your concern is best addressed by making civics and power literacy mandatory, and sanely regulated gun ownership also mandatory. AR-15 is not an assault rifle. But people with a verifiable history of violent domestic abuse or violence toward animals at any age, no guns. Anyone caught in possession of a firearm while intoxicated, instant loss of the gun privilege. Armed robbery, larceny of firearms, no guns. Etc.
I am with you. We should take POWER seriously, and in addition to civics power literacy should be taught.
Because voting and the entire Western civilization rests on the bottom up people power.
It’s like when pirates had true democratic governance before any country did. Because each pirate was willing to kill every other pirate in their sleep, and they each knew that about themselves and each other, and made a rational decision to vote. But imagine if most pirates were NOT willing to kill, and this unwillingness was also well known? Why the fuck would they each get a vote then? Think about it.
That’s the thing - we shouldn’t all have a vote. The founding fathers warned us about if we did: the elites would sway those who most easily prostrated and gave themselves up to that, hence power would go to those most willing to do precisely that.
That is why the USA was called an “experiment” in democracy - it was a test, not assured that we would make it. The fact that we have come this far by no means acts as a guarantee that we have the ability to go any further. And somehow the people who routinely fall for chain email scams are the ones in charge.
What made it work, in the past, was that the elites enjoyed the fiction of allowing people to vote - they were pacified, and the real stuff got done regardless, however they wished. However, now with globalization and automation, that precept is no longer true. Mega-corporations don’t need or want much of an educated workforce, least of all one that acts entired, demanding a higher share of profits.
I see government itself becoming less relevant than it used to be, as multinational corporations amass more power than those are allowed to retain. But to the extent they are allowed to continue existing, they become a tool of those in power to exert even further control. Meanwhile we talk as if We The People are in charge, but the more the masses say that, the less true it is. Especially when they refuse to even so much as read a book or watch a video about how things really are. They prefer to watch sports or reality TV shows, confident that big daddy will give them everything they hoped for, not realizing that what they deserve is so, so much ah… different.
Things are going to change, that’s for sure, as we settle into a new equilibrium that better matches the updated set of circumstances that we see now and expect to come soon.
We should and will all have a vote.
Anyone who takes the time to educate themselves on the issues should get a vote. But if you don’t even want to be aware that there are 3 branches of government, and like what their names are then… the vote is worse than unhelpful, it becomes an echo of the people who are trying to bring the system down. Then nobody gets a vote, especially when votes themselves are done away with.
Once voting becomes conditional, it’s a precedent and then it will invite all kinds of people to adjust the conditions, to apply conditions selectively, etc.
A universal suffrage is much more defensible and harder to abuse.
Your concern is best addressed by making civics and power literacy mandatory, and sanely regulated gun ownership also mandatory. AR-15 is not an assault rifle. But people with a verifiable history of violent domestic abuse or violence toward animals at any age, no guns. Anyone caught in possession of a firearm while intoxicated, instant loss of the gun privilege. Armed robbery, larceny of firearms, no guns. Etc.