The most widely accepted idea I can think of–as it is appears–is the myth that democracy is the apex of a structured and civilized society. This is to say that it is indisputable that the world, down to its communities, should be formed and maintained around democracy. It is difficult to find an instance of anyone openly speaking in opposition of democratic movements or structures. Thus, the dogma of this era is “democracy is good, no questions asked.”
What is democracy to you?
The following is a short definition I provided in response to the question above:
“1 person, 1 vote… That is to say that I, not someone a majority I may not be a part of has chosen, make the decisions for me… I vote on EVERYTHING that is being debated/decided if I so choose…”
Only I should be allowed to make decisions that will affect me. So, if I happen to be part of a minority, I should not be forced by the existence of a decision by the majority to adhere to the choices of the majority. Some may say that democracy entails circumstances in which a majority makes decisions, while simultaneously upholding the rights of the minority. This notion is a complete contradiction.
In the previous scenario, the majority tramples on the rights of the minority simply by voting away minority rights. If a voter’s choice land them among the minority, their rights have already been trampled upon, because another group of people decided, via their own vote, what is right or wrong for the minority group.
Even with the existence of a representative democracy, the individual does not make their own decisions. First, the individual may be a part of that minority whose representative was not elected to represent them. Second, the representative chooses one way or the other, based upon what she decides. Third, even if the representative based her decisions on the major sentiment of the group she represents, the minority in opposition is still forced to adhere to something with which they do not agree.
Is the majority always right?
The dogma of democracy is predicated on the idea that the majority is most qualified to determine what is right or best. Or, it is shrouded in the delusion that the majority should choose the course of society for ALL of society, even for those who disagree. Either way, those who detract from popular sentiment are forced, through laws backed by violence, to live in a society they had no real hand in shaping–besides the fact that they were on the wrong (unpopular) side of the vote.
When democracy goes wrong
There are many examples that point out flaws in the myth of the supremacy of democracy, but there are a few crucial and less crucial examples we can consider. For instance, if you gather for movietime with a few friends and your choices were between Pootie Tang & Napolean Dynamite, how would you feel if forced–due to being of the minority vote–to sit through either of the movies you find as horrible and annoying? And this begs the question, “How do the choices arise in the first place?”
Nevertheless, if a movie you feel is great was included in the choices and was not picked by the majority, would you feel fine sitting through the one chosen that would be simply painful to watch, only because the majority would rather watch one of the ridiculous films? Furthermore, if the US wars on Iraq or Afghanistan had gone to a public vote, would war have been avoided?
Democracy respects misinformation
The fact is, the majority of people are often wrong. The public are often led by misinformation. There is no evidence to support the idea that a majority of people would select the best course of action for all people.
The push and argument for democracy is only to have individuals feel as though they have some power over the forces controlling their lives. Ironically, it is true that the majority the invidual may not be a part of–under democracy–is the force controlling their lives. It would be nice to believe that a mob has the ability to constantly and effectively create change to or remain on the course of justice and logic, but what unknown said is true:
Democracy: Where any two idiots can outvote a genius.
All it takes is a little encouragement to coerce the masses to vote against their own interests, including their own rights and liberty. It’s sad that geniuses are of the minority, yet everyone else feels equal to one when it comes to something as important as humanity.
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