Dumbing Down Democracy - E-book - ePub

It seems that in America and the UK, Juvenal's observation of the political power of ancient Roman emperors was to give the people, "bread and circuses." This seems to be prevalent today with food stamps and football keeping the people content. It seems that our two countries are stumbling down the rocky path to degradation. Are we willing to determine what type of government we want and work for it? If so, this book may be of value to you.
This book was originally meant to point out the methods that have been used in modern elections to bypass our intellects and appeal to our unconscious minds. These were particularly evident in the elections of Bush and Trump and in the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom. But as the writing progressed, it was deemed necessary to present some basic logic and psychology in order to show how the subjects of the book had delved into the unconscious mind and had ventured from logical and verifiable arguments in order to accomplish their goals.
Once these issues were presented it was decided to venture with the reader into what kind of government he would like to have-- and why. One of the questions asked is whether they want low taxes or happiness. The happiest countries are shown to have very high taxes, while the United States is ranked 18th on the happiness scale. Another question is whether liberty or equality should be the major measure of justice for the society.
Political philosophers realize that these two ideals are often mutually incompatible. The latter part of the book looks at education, and what may be improved. If we are to have an educated Democratic Republic, we must have educated citizens, legislators, and executives. The ending chapter deals with what we might consider has constitutional amendments to bring the Constitution up to date and to reverse the 5 to 4 decisions of some of the Supreme Court's that have redirected the founding document into directives that directly counter the reasons for the Constitution - - to provide for the general welfare.