I saw that broadcast. Bolsonaro is not exactly Trump but their personalities and methods rhyme. John Adams claimed that “While all other Sciences have advanced, that of Government is at a stand; little better understood; little better practiced now than three or four thousand years ago.” Certainly despotism is an ancient plague. I su…
I saw that broadcast. Bolsonaro is not exactly Trump but their personalities and methods rhyme. John Adams claimed that “While all other Sciences have advanced, that of Government is at a stand; little better understood; little better practiced now than three or four thousand years ago.” Certainly despotism is an ancient plague. I suspect we need to understand it more deeply, on the level of our own human nature, to have any hope of escaping the curse.
Perhaps government could go substack, modernize, and be THE reflection of the will of the people. I feel like most of our leaders win their election to insure their goodie bag (grab bag) and guarantee of prosperity living in tall cotton. They don’t care about their constituents once they have achieved perpetual wealth.
We need to take a hard look at how we might democratize the public conversation. This blog is one such model, but it is a gated community, with a fee to discourage bots and trolls. We as a society have grown lazy about enforcing public sentiment to honor sincerity as a matter of principle and condemn fraud and lies. We cannot know for certain that we are correct, but lies are a choice.
Prominent Republicans now lie openly and outrageously, with a rhetoric that betrays the fact that they know they are lying, to an extent that I think would have troubled even Nixon. Democracy thrives in good faith, and can withstand lies, but if and only if We the People have the integrity to hand liars a red card; within our own cohort as well as our opponents'.
There were and are politicians who, though flawed and human, display sufficient integrity to be entrusted with profound civic responsibilities if held accountable. Modern campaigns however are often a "medicine show"; this not new but perhaps exacerbated by modern mass media. Big Lies and "dirty tricks" have always corrupted and afflicted society, but we can be a lot smarter and more ethical about weeding them out.
I saw that broadcast. Bolsonaro is not exactly Trump but their personalities and methods rhyme. John Adams claimed that “While all other Sciences have advanced, that of Government is at a stand; little better understood; little better practiced now than three or four thousand years ago.” Certainly despotism is an ancient plague. I suspect we need to understand it more deeply, on the level of our own human nature, to have any hope of escaping the curse.
Same brand! Three wives, five children, and his middle name is "Messias". When he went to Israel he had himself baptised in the Jordan.
Perhaps government could go substack, modernize, and be THE reflection of the will of the people. I feel like most of our leaders win their election to insure their goodie bag (grab bag) and guarantee of prosperity living in tall cotton. They don’t care about their constituents once they have achieved perpetual wealth.
We need to take a hard look at how we might democratize the public conversation. This blog is one such model, but it is a gated community, with a fee to discourage bots and trolls. We as a society have grown lazy about enforcing public sentiment to honor sincerity as a matter of principle and condemn fraud and lies. We cannot know for certain that we are correct, but lies are a choice.
Prominent Republicans now lie openly and outrageously, with a rhetoric that betrays the fact that they know they are lying, to an extent that I think would have troubled even Nixon. Democracy thrives in good faith, and can withstand lies, but if and only if We the People have the integrity to hand liars a red card; within our own cohort as well as our opponents'.
There were and are politicians who, though flawed and human, display sufficient integrity to be entrusted with profound civic responsibilities if held accountable. Modern campaigns however are often a "medicine show"; this not new but perhaps exacerbated by modern mass media. Big Lies and "dirty tricks" have always corrupted and afflicted society, but we can be a lot smarter and more ethical about weeding them out.
John Adams himself wrote a comprehensive analysis and history of governments before the 1787 convention. It is a google books free digital artifact.
A defense of the constitutions of the United States of America.
A very hard read. Well worth the effort.