Democracy requires that the governed approve (implicitly or otherwise) of those who govern.
You aren't likely to get that approval when you run a government based on fear, paranoia, domestic espionage, and militarism. Or at least if you do want to run a government based on fear, paranoia, domestic espionage, and militarism, you'd better throw the peasants a bone. Make it something most folks can agree they like, whether they'll admit it publicly or not.
That's why I'd like to salute the political wisdom of Russian provincial governor Sergei Morozov for declaring today to be National Stay Home And Screw Day. Or something to that effect -- my Russian isn't that good.
Go ahead and laugh. But people will put up with a lot of crap from their rulers if there's at least a minimal degree of comfort and/or entertainment value involved. The ancient Romans used to call that sort of thing "bread and circuses."
The Bush Administration really should consider something like this. If everyone was doing it to each other for one day, that would be one day they don't have to worry about it being done to them by their government.
Besides, if there was a "National Dirty Sex Day" in the US, you just know it would be the perfect occasion to bomb the crap out of Iran and not have any of the major news networks even notice.
Now, here's a completely-unsafe-for-work song:
You aren't likely to get that approval when you run a government based on fear, paranoia, domestic espionage, and militarism. Or at least if you do want to run a government based on fear, paranoia, domestic espionage, and militarism, you'd better throw the peasants a bone. Make it something most folks can agree they like, whether they'll admit it publicly or not.
That's why I'd like to salute the political wisdom of Russian provincial governor Sergei Morozov for declaring today to be National Stay Home And Screw Day. Or something to that effect -- my Russian isn't that good.
Go ahead and laugh. But people will put up with a lot of crap from their rulers if there's at least a minimal degree of comfort and/or entertainment value involved. The ancient Romans used to call that sort of thing "bread and circuses."
The Bush Administration really should consider something like this. If everyone was doing it to each other for one day, that would be one day they don't have to worry about it being done to them by their government.
Besides, if there was a "National Dirty Sex Day" in the US, you just know it would be the perfect occasion to bomb the crap out of Iran and not have any of the major news networks even notice.
Now, here's a completely-unsafe-for-work song:
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