You've Got It Backwards

If we all agree, something must be wrong...

You’ve got it backwards.

People seem to be really confused, and dangerously misinformed, about what democracy is. And, how about totalitarianism?  What is that, really?  And how can you tell the difference between democracy and totalitarianism?

The difference is obvious, you say.  Then, why do so many people mistake the one for the other?  We are being told that “democracy is in danger” because of all the dissention in the USA.  But is it? Is democracy in danger?  Isn’t the idea of democracy that We the People get to vote on the issues?  Is anyone so daft as to think that the vote is just a formality, and that The People have already agreed on how things should be? The things that The People all agree on rarely come up for a vote, because they already agree.  Why vote on it? Laws have been passed, with no vote by The People, that make it illegal for a pedestrian to walk down the middle of the road.  No need for a general election to vote on that one. Likewise, I can’t enter your home without your permission, and you can’t enter mine.  There was never a vote on that, yet it’s the law.

Votes are not for when we agree, they are for when we disagree. And in a free society, there is ample discussion of an issue long ahead of a vote.  There are people and publications on both sides, trying to win adherents.  And, truth be told, there may be a majority of The People who really don’t give a damn about that issue, and wish everyone would just shut up about it. THAT is how democracy in a free society works. That dissention is not a threat to democracy, that dissention IS democracy.

So, what about totalitarianism?  You can recognize totalitarianism by the people being beaten in the streets by the Gestapo, or such, right? Well, yes, sometimes you can. But mostly, totalitarianism shows itself by not showing itself. It maintains a pretense of freedom and civility. You know, like Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez did, and like Xi Jinping does. Jinping is the dictator of China.  Oops, no, he’s the president of China.  My mistake.  They have elections in China.  You get to vote for the hand-picked communist of your choice.  But you don’t get to vote for Jinping.  He’s made himself president for life.  Is any of that democracy?  No.  It’s totalitarianism dressed up as democracy. Do you know the most obvious way to tell it’s not democracy?  There’s no dissent.  There are no opposition newspapers.  No opposition TV or radio.  Little to nothing on the internet.  Absolutely no mention of Tiananmen Square.  At least not ‘legally’.

THAT’S how you know its totalitarianism. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve been to China.  Wonderful people.  Happy people.  And why shouldn’t they be? They are told they have no reason to be unhappy.  They are told that everything is fine. The government controls the economy, and the great leaders have everything under control so that all Chinese can have a great life. And the government controls the newspapers. I read an English language newspaper every day for the two weeks I was there.  I would say that it was published by Americans.  The format was identical to US newspapers, and even the idioms were American. Yet, something was different.  It took me a little too long to see what it was, considering, but then I got it.  There was no dissention.  No ‘these people opposing those people’.  No ‘two sides of the story’.  There were no challenges to any laws, or government proposals, or government programs.  Nothing being hashed out in the court of public opinion.  THAT is totalitarianism.

So, as you hear people (perhaps you’re one of them) campaigning for censorship, under the guise of outlawing ‘hate speech’ and ‘disinformation’, remember, you are hearing people recommending totalitarianism.  Perhaps you’re one of them.

We can be polite in expressing our opinions, or we can be shrill, or some interesting blend of the two.  But the moment you support silencing the opposition, no matter how ‘pure’ your motives, you are a totalitarian.  If, in your heart, you are sure you are right and that we must have government by reasonable, compassionate people like you, you are a totalitarian. If you support silencing the opposition because of how horrible and hateful they are, you are the horrible, hateful person.

People say America has changed.  Of course. It’s always been changing. People, in their imaginations, or in their doctrinaire history class, have come to believe that, in America, there was ever a time when we all pretty much got along.  That time has never existed.  And I hope to hell it never does.

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