RE: The Corrosive Effects Of Identity Politics
@Luzcypher, this is a great piece, brother – thank you for having the audacity to share your thoughts on this topic so deeply!
Though there may be some benefits to “democracy,” at the end of the day it’s more or less “mob rule.”
In fact, many would argue that the US is NOT a democracy but was set up rather as a Constitutional Republic (if we could keep it) for the very purpose of protecting individual rights vs. those that a majority mob may at some point wish to impose on any individual or group of individuals.
Many argue as well that the constitution has long since been abandoned, and that we have been governed under some sort of “emergency powers” act that every president since Roosevelt has renewed thereby putting the Constitution and all of its binding properties on hold until the emergency passes, which of course it never will.
In essence, it’s not a very far stretch for one to conclude after deep thought and study, that America is bankrupt and run by a corrupt fictitious corporatocracy with a debt-based and corrupt fiat system of debt-based money with no intrinsic value.
In my view, the most paramount and important thing government and politics should strive to achieve, respect, and uphold at any cost, is the sovereignty and natural rights of the individual – and that EVERYBODY is EQUAL under the law regardless of their station in life – no exceptions.
As such, logic would dictate that if “the individual” is protected against “the mob,” and is protected from any form of tyranny of the majority, then by extension, EVERYONE is equal and there is no need for the corrosive façade of “identity politics.”
IMHO, the only level of judgment that should be considered in evaluating and yes, “discriminating” each and every individual on the face of this Earth from one another - is the content of their character and their actions - nothing more, and nothing less. In this sense, as it is in many such instances in life, discrimination can be a very good and positive thing.
We can still dream, can’t we?
Actually, the word democracy is not to be found in the US Constitution or the Bill Of Rights. The United States was originally created as a republic.
The key difference between a democracy and a republic lies in the limits placed on government by the law, which has implications for minority rights. Both forms of government tend to use a representational system — i.e., citizens vote to elect politicians to represent their interests and form the government. In a republic, a constitution or charter of rights protects certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away by the government, even if it has been elected by a majority of voters. In a "pure democracy," the majority is not restrained in this way and can impose its will on the minority.
Indeed it was, however, the keywords to reflect upon here are "was" and "originally," which begs the question, what has America morphed into at present, and in which direction is she heading in the future?