"fool me once, shame on you, etc"
every four years, the jerks line up for 'democracy' drill. "choose a president, you lucky people!" from a selection of two. hmm, maybe not so lucky. still, two is better than one.
unless one is dubya, and the other is disqualified by too much education, intelligence and character. too much for the american voter, any way. twice. but then the american voter backed nixon twice too. do you see a pattern here? americans prefer crooks, fools, good ol' boys. they yearn to be be cheated, stole from and sent to war.
bush is america, his so-called lies are just the fresh paint on the national character: crooked, violent, bigoted, and ignorant of anything going on across the county line. they ain't lies, they're the national country music.
every so often i quit trying to be polite, in expressing my opinion of the character and intelligence of the american voter. the quote above was a post in 'salon' which got a few approvals from other writers, who were also inclined to admit that "the government you deserve" was the relevant summation. but one made a point that it wasn't just the voters who were lacking, that the democrat party had put up "empty shirt" intellectuals that had no appeal to garden variety yanks.
the 'gvy' should have voted for the empty shirts. they were electing a president, not choosing a drinking buddy. but the principle of the objection is right: what if the alternative candidate is equally inadequate?
that is why democratic government is not government, but administration. that is why national law and policy should be set by referendum, and why the clerks and managers must work in public, carrying out the plans approved by the electorate. that is why democracy is rule by laws, and all other governments are rule by men.
governments avoid rule through power, it's expensive and dangerous. traditionally, the king strikes a deal with the high priest: the priest says the king is god's ruler, the king says all must worship in the high priest's church.
it's not that simple, anymore. religion has been supplanted by 'media'. the high priest is replaced by media proprietors. worse, the king has been 'assisted' by his public servants and politicians, into irrelevance.
why does the king linger on? legitimacy. the monarchy is the figleaf over the seizure of power by a guild of political bandits.
does it matter? it matters a lot. the legal basis of operation of the nation is founded on a lie. the constitution is a nonsense. as a result, law is only an assertion of current power-holders. this reality will percolate through the community and rot the legitimacy of the state.
does it matter? it matters if the current eruption of corruption in nsw convinces you that "enough is enough!" the corruption that never leaves the news, the incompetence that makes discussion of roads, hospitals, water, power generation, environment a matter of on-going despair is the natural and inescapable result of parliamentary government.
if you want a better result, if you want to pass on an oz as good or better than you got, it's time ozzians put themselves at the head table of government. it's not hard. politicians have no legitimacy but your vote. put it to use to put them at the service of the people.
if you want to move toward democracy, admit you haven't got it. then we can talk about how to get it, as well as why.
or just say "she'll be right" and go back to the racing guide.