Bill's Views on Most Everything

The dominant form of government is not democracy, it’s tyranny, and always has been.  Tyrants used to be called kings or emperors.  Today their title is most often President or Chairman.  Tyrants are people who rule nations with little input from the citizens.   Putin, Mugabe, Gaddafi, Assad, Khamenei, Kim Jong Il, Castro.  This is a short list of the most notorious dictators.   Most nations are ruled by tyrants.  Fragile democracies are a distinct minority.

Often a central factor in the move toward tyranny is fear.  Europe is an example.  Terrorism breeds fear and the people opt for more central control to fight terrorism. Europeans are also afraid of the Muslim immigrants, equating them with terrorism.

The President of the United States is a would-be tyrant, held in check by a paralyzed congress and functioning judiciary.  In addition, the massive federal bureaucracy is resistant to rapid change, with most bureaucrats being career civil servants with fairly safe jobs.  The agency heads come and go, these days at a rapid pace, but cars are still being crash tested, roads are built, disease outbreaks are tracked, and the parks are open.

Federal judges block laws violating the constitution and the military continues to admit transsexuals.  Elections are tampered with, but democracy continues to prevail for the moment.  It appears the mid term elections will strengthen our republic.  Democracy is under fire in the U.S. and Europe but the democratic institutions seem to be prevailing.

Remember, however, the failure of democracy in Germany and Italy in the 1930’s with global consequences.  Here in our country we still possess the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.  We march.  We chant “Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids you kill today?”  We march again.  We run for office.  We don’t give up.  We will prevail.  Our democracy will survive, probably.