Current Affairs Is this the twilight of democracy?

Bruce

Contributor
The original thread went out when the hackers struck.

The title of the thread came from a book written by Anne Applebaum about the rise of authoritarian leaders in Europe, and of course the United States.

This is an excerpt from a new book Romney: A reckoning.

Now I know most here are not interested in a US Republican senator, but he is very concerned as to the survival of democracy in the United States.

Shortly after moving into his Senate office, Romney had hung a large rectangular map on the wall. First printed in 1931 by Rand McNally, the “histomap” attempted to chart the rise and fall of the world’s most powerful civilizations through 4,000 years of human history. When Romney first acquired the map, he saw it as a curiosity. After January 6, he became obsessed with it. He showed the map to visitors, brought it up in conversations and speeches. More than once, he found himself staring at it alone in his office at night. The Egyptian empire had reigned for some 900 years before it was overtaken by the Assyrians. Then the Persians, the Romans, the Mongolians, the Turks—each civilization had its turn, and eventually collapsed in on itself. Maybe the falls were inevitable. But what struck Romney most about the map was how thoroughly it was dominated by tyrants of some kind—pharaohs, emperors, kaisers, kings. “A man gets some people around him and begins to oppress and dominate others,” he said the first time he showed me the map. “It’s a testosterone-related phenomenon, perhaps. I don’t know. But in the history of the world, that’s what happens.” America’s experiment in self-rule “is fighting against human nature.”
 
This is worth listening to.
General Shireff know what he is talking about. If you are in a fight, go for it, don't prevaricate.
 
America’s experiment in self-rule “is fighting against human nature.”
I worry for democracy everywhere as it’s evolved from community minded people stepping up and giving back, to becoming dominated by career politicians.

A prerequisite is years of training in spin, PR and manipulation techniques which has become the driver of success. You can stuff up as much as you want as long as you can talk your way out of it…

When every election becomes an arms race to buy votes with policies that force our spending to outrun inflation and rack up debt, we are seeing the worlds governments drowning in debt. It appears to be a structural downward spiral requiring increasing tax and increasing debt that democratic elections drive towards eventual economic ruin.

Media have becoming dominated by opinion pieces and hence bias, I don’t think we don’t get fair and balanced critique as everyone has turned to media sources that they align with. Investigative reporting and in-depth analysis has gone in favour of one liners and sound bites.

If democracy is fighting against human nature, I think human nature has fought back and is starting to expose the flaws in democracy.
 
If democracy is fighting against human nature, I think human nature has fought back and is starting to expose the flaws in democracy.
Socrates said it was government by mediocrity.
Solzenhitzyn said a benevolent dictator was best.
Henry the 8th said power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Benjamin Franklin said it is not a perfect form of government, but it is the best we have.
The British Parliamentary system is not perfect, but it has lasted.
 
Socrates said it was government by mediocrity.
Solzenhitzyn said a benevolent dictator was best.
Henry the 8th said power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Benjamin Franklin said it is not a perfect form of government, but it is the best we have.
The British Parliamentary system is not perfect, but it has lasted.
What form of governing does Webby do?

That works!
 
Thomas Jefferson. "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance". Kiwi translation. Never trust the pricks and assume if their lips are moving they are lying.
 
Interesting article about the RNZ ‘pro Russia’ journalist Mick Hall whose edits were blasted as containing “a false account of events” that “reflect a pro-Russian view” and “pro-Kremlin garbage”

The inquiry has actually found it was systemic failures in RNZ and steered clear of the content being significantly wrong. In fact it found the “vast majority” of Hall’s work was “edited appropriately and professionally”.

It turns out the reporter was the most senior reporter in RNZ in regards to world news. The edits challenged a pro US world view. But we’re not necessarily wrong. Just not following the western view that our media wanted us to take.

University of Chicago professor John J Mearsheimer wrote to the inquiry, saying he did “not believe Mr Hall is purveying Russian propaganda”. I find it profoundly depressing that in a liberal democracy like New Zealand, Mr Hall is being severely punished for simply being honest.”

Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs wrote: “The claim that the edits are pro-Russian propaganda is nonsense. The edits add depth of historical context and understanding, and open minds to a deeper inquiry.”

Interesting how this raises a lot of questions about propaganda and misinformations. It seems who we align with determines our truth…

 
Thomas Jefferson. "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance". Kiwi translation. Never trust the pricks and assume if their lips are moving they are lying.
I understand that was not his meaning at all.
 
Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs wrote: “The claim that the edits are pro-Russian propaganda is nonsense. The edits add depth of historical context and understanding, and open minds to a deeper inquiry.”
Jeffrey Sachs is similar, but a little different to John J Mearsheimer.

Sachs is strong socialist, and supported Bernie Sanders in his presidential bid for 2016.

I like Bernie Sanders, he has a conscience and a heart, although too left wing for me. the Democratic party shafted him horribly in preference to Hilary Clinton for the 2016 election. If they had selected him, Trump would not have won, guaranteed.

Why Sachs is sucking up to Putin is beyond me but he is of my generation, many of whom were influenced by Stalin's propaganda that communism actually worked. That propaganda has now widely been debunked as bullshit promoted by a Pulitzer Prize winning Merkin journalist living in Moscow prior to WWII.
 
Interesting how this raises a lot of questions about propaganda and misinformations. It seems who we align with determines our truth…
Speak for yourself Cecil.

Academics are trained to look critically at published opinions. i.e. who is saying it, and who is paying them.

The press did not warn the world of the danger of Dick Cheney being the puppet master behind GW Bush. That had tragic consequences.

Personally I understood the 2000 election was stolen from Al Gore, but I wasn't quite sure of the actual details, that were far more like 1/6 than the legal argument presented in the world press. By that I mean, SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia, who was sort of respectable, has now been exposed as on the take from right wing billionaires, and also that a GOP mob threatened a counting centre in Florida.

It should be no surprise to know that Bush's grandfather was Hitler's banker in the US.

Cheney used 9/11 to stir up anti Islamic sentiment, and convert that into the WMD bullshit.

To do that he needed somebody far more respectable to push that, i.e. Colin Powell, who sullied his reputation horribly.

It later turned out that Powell had been involved in the investigation of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam.

The press should have been on to that as well. he really should have been given no credibility after the My Lai incident.

Do you see my point?
 
Democracy is Lways at threat because of Politicians are only motivated by power, control greed and ego every last one of them
 
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