[Say it with me one time..."Down with our democracy"!
And in the immortal words of Jim Carry..."put some STANK on it"!]
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The above was written a year ago this June, and although the goal of that post (the last one till now) is still the same, I just didn't know enough at that time to refrain from writing those last 2 lines you see above. If I was to write it today, it could very well be the same post minus those lines.
It took a lot of research to come to the understanding I had when I wrote that, even though it's a fairly simple post about OUR understanding of what kind of country we are.
It's not rocket science, or complex chemistry, or quantum physics, but it DOES require a little digging and a willingness to hear or read things that may not peacefully coexist with our current, individual, paradigms. But to come to any kind of truth, one's mind needs to be open to those concepts that are anethema to our own. Two sides to every story right? Understanding of both takes a little due diligence.
You see, in the education I've received since that last post almost a year ago, many more layers have been peeled back, and this democracy I was so anxious for all of us to see clearly and understand no need for, I now believe is a necessary state for most of us, given where we are today. But why?
For those unfamiliar with most of the founding fathers' many quotes and works, when Ben Franklin walked out of the Constitutional convention, which was done in private, he was asked what kind of country they (the attendees) had given us. His response was simple and streight forward...
"A republic, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT".
Now keep in mind that Americans had just fought and won a revolutionary war. They knew full well what they had fought for and why.
Not so today.
Today, many generations later, we believe, and have indeed been taught, a much different history than the Americans of the revolution lived. This lack of knowledge and understanding of our American history makes a democracy, especially THIS democracy, the natural evolution for a country that's become so ignorant of it's own history.
What all this comes down to is simply this...we have a choice...each and every one of us.
Do you know the difference between a democracy and a republic?
If you don't, how on earth can you expect yourself to be able to intelligently decide which one you favor? How could you possibly and honestly favor a democracy when the only thing you know about it is what's said on the tube or the radio or by your teachers if they taught a preference, rather than factual lessons on the difference between the two?
We have the greatest equalizer on the planet available to us in this day and age.
WE HAVE THE INTERNET!
Now before ya go off into that dismissive coma that starts with..."ya can't believe everything ya read on the internet", think about this for a second.
Every thing you ever need to see or read, concerning America, can be found at the Library of Congress. Guess what?
IT'S ONLINE!.
My generation had books, if ya had a clue as to who was legit. We also had TV, radio, newspapers & magazines, like today, and local libraries and our texts books.
That was about it.
Every one of those sources spoon fed us information and news with the exception of the libraries. Now, if you're intellectually honest, do ya think it's possible...just possible...for a nation to be led in any direction those spoon feeding sources deem necessary?
Hitler thought so, and then he LED THEM alright.
His Germany didn't have the internet. Neither did Stalin's Russia, or Mao's China, or Mossolini's Italy, etc. etc. etc.
WE DO!
If the dreamers of this generation take full advantage of this immense resource known as the internet, there isn't anything they can't accomplish in this world. With a little benevolent guidance and their own curious motivation and initiative, they can usher in a whole new era for us as a species.
But in order to do that, they're going to need to understand the past and the cause of man kinds divisiveness, and in so doing, the understanding of societies and their various states of existence. Only from that firm foundational grasp, will they have the freedom to dream beyond comprehension.
As for my generation...well...in many, many, many respects, we've yet to grow up.
If we don't know there are sharks in the water, than it's pretty easy for us to let our kids swim in it. If we don't know the difference between a democracy and a republic, then it's easy to let our kids plunge head first into God knows what.
Oh DUH...whatever the 5 second sound bite on the news TELLS us it is.
Oh yea...I forgot...our kids have been raised with the internet. So do we just expect them to teach themselves the things WE should know and should've been teaching them throughout their upbringing? I guess a good long look in the mirror will answer that for each of us. For most of us, our kids are already in high school or college, and have most likely been shaped and molded to be good little democratic automotons. Or have they?
I believe this generation KNOWS they have a choice. I believe they're finding out what the alternatives are, and with all the piss & vinegar youth has to offer, will make sure us parents take NOTICE.
So in closing, it is THIS posters opinion that the choice is OURS to decide. Each and every one of us can choose which society we want to live in and leave to our posterity.
Each and every one of us can ALSO choose to remain ignorant as well.
Republic or democracy? Which will it be? Can it be both?
IS it BOTH?
Say it with me one time..."UP WITH.............."!
And put some STANK on it!
