Posted on 06/27/2014 6:56:13 AM PDT by Fester Chugabrew
For the past few centuries, the Western world has witnessed a contest of historic visions. On the one side was the dream of the beautiful collective. Human progress was a one-way march toward socialism. People would liberate themselves from religion, hierarchy and oppression. They would build a new kind of society where equality would be the rule, where rational planning would replace cruel competition.
On the other side was . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I never had faith in universal Democracy to start with. I believe in freedom and laws designed to protect them. I believe in a system constructed in a manner that keeps one evil tyrant from taking total control.
Universal Democracy is nothing but mob rule. Pander to the masses and give them what they want and they will give you their selfish support, laws be damned.
We suffer from Democracy today. Badly. And we have a tyrant that is taking ultimate advantage from it.
Spreading democracy should never have been a policy of the United States. Democracy as a failure is second only to socialism/communism. It has been proven time and again that the masses are asses; unthinking, uncritical and ignorant to undereducated.
Every man should be free, but not every man is ready for freedom. Iraq and the ME is proof of that.
In this piece Brooks does not appear to address the distinction between a Constitutional Republic and raw democracy.
It is very understandable. Brooks is a token kabuki conservative and is prone to the misrepresentations of liberalism.
I also see you correctly can make the distinction between small “d” democracy and big “D” Democracy. That is a distinction which many liberals today often intentionally misuse to benefit their cause.
David Brooks should stick to a subject he has some level of expertise in, like his “innate” ability to determine leadership qualities of an individual from creases in his or her dress pants.
However, biblical morality is given mention here.
But, that morality will not fly without an accompanying faith in God. Otherwise, various temptations will overwhelm us. We will not be able to say no to various illusory short term gains.
NYT is supposed to be those smart East Coast intellectuals, right?
Then how come they miss the obvious fact that there will be no “rational planning” without “hierarchy?”
(Not to mention the sad fact of human nature — that “oppression” is inevitable when the elites indulge in “rational planning.”)
Because “democracy” is not found anywhere in the writings of the Founders, in fact, they warned against it, we can only hope that people see the folly in having the least capable people choosing the nation’s leaders. The Founders knew better, requiring land ownership in order to vote. Let the Makers decide, not the Takers.
There is much debate over how the principles we espouse should be brought to bear in other territories, if at all. The tension between universal principles, geography, and culture make for a mess. I strongly believe that without the inculcation of virtue any pursuit of any disciplined self-government is vain. Alas, we’ve lately elected an administration sorely lacking in virtue.
Beautiful collectivism? As in socialism, Marxism, communism? Enslavement of the masses? Mass murder of hundreds of millions?
Brought to us by the same godless collectivist monsters that foisted wholesale slaughter of the innocent unborn on America?
Ain’t collectivism grand?
Gaaah! That frosts my bagel how this guy lacked any discernment of Obama’s background and intentions. Must be the air he breathes or the cocktail parties he attends.
We have installed a regime in power that strives only for that - Power. The power and control over the lives, thoughts and deeds of every person in this country.
It is not going to be a pretty sight in 20 years if they succeed in this. And, at this rate, our stalwart GOPe is doing nothing about it except pandering for black Democrat votes in Mississippi to re-elect a blithering, senile old coot to the Senate that will (unwittingly) march lock-step with his appeasing second-tier masters.
“The democratic gospel was both lofty and realistic. It had a high historic mission, but it was based on the idea that biblical morality is necessary precisely because people are selfish and shortsighted, capitalism is necessary because economies are too complicated to understand and plan; democracy is necessary because concentrated power is always dangerous, no matter how seductive it seems in the short term.”
Any system of government that willfully ignores the Creator's will and Word will prove to be grandly oppressive.
One wonders whether Brooks wrote that with approbation or disapproval, since he uses the appositive “but.”
I don`t believe in Democracy, we are a Federalist Constitutional Republic. P!ss on mob-ocracy!
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