Sunday 24 January 2010

Is it worth making an effort - or should we accept that most people are stupidly hooked on 'bread and circuses?

Concerning local or grass-roots democracy a correspondent wrote;

i think it will be as problematic as the current system, as the basic problem is that people mostly are not *involved*, they passively look for entertainment, and are not educated in the qualities to look for, and this will always mean bad choices will be made, *whatever the system*...

Thanks for your comment - it helped me clarify what I think we should be doing.

IMHO - Keeping the masses uninvolved, not least via bread and circuses, has been the trick all along - by those who have managed to shift the vast majority of wealth to a tiny percentage of the population – here, in the US and in many countries.  Have we forgotten the idea of abolishing the extremes of wealth and poverty?  In the UK . 

The answer to un-involvement is involvement.  The answer to alienation is meaning and bridge-building.  The answer to passivity is action.  The answer to stupidity is education.  Otherwise we should just give up. 

I suppose giving up on democracy altogether and going for a dictatorship might bring the greatest good for the greatest number - that's worked so well in the past!

Democracy is the worst form of government except all the other forms that have been tried from time to time – Winston Churchill

On the issue of replacing negatives with positives a certain spiritual teacher advised us that when a negative thought came we should replace it with a positive one.  Recently Thelma sent out this wonderful video (Thanks Thelma);

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We also have, "Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and centre your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements." (Gl. 213)

I  am anxiously concerned.

Also interestingly the great educator Dan Jordan said that, 'Anxiety is energy without a goal.'

The goals here are to make a contribution, however small, toward improving, on a non or cross-party basis,the democratic system of the country I love.

The goals are also some of the reasons the lumpen proletariat are disengaged. 

For example lack of local democracy, massive inequality in the representation of women, representation of a broad spectrum of voices (Labour is in with 22% of the vote) etc.  You can find the full set HERE

We would probably want to add other factors poor parenting, the negative side of new media, the manipulation via our current circuses in 'bread and circuses'.

What is going on in Iran, and in America and in Haiti possibly matter more than improving our nation's health.  But if our stable could be cleaned out it might help others.

What do you think?  Is it worth making an effort?

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