I understand why--attacking everybody doesn't win votes--but I don't have to like it.
I think it is though an important part of how and why democracy works. The fact that in order to get elected a politician has to be able to appeal to the majority slows down the process of change, and while that can be regrettable if a change is what one wants to see, slow change is fundamentally more stable and thus more likely to lead to the greater happiness of the greater number along the way. Or to put it another way, you can see this by contrast with the other extreme where revolutions always have high casualty rates.
It is an old saw that nations have to earn democracy for themselves by reaching a certain state of mental willingness, but I have found that is true on an individual level as well. Like you, I support a party which has been out of power for many years now, and as well as patience it has taught me to look at democracy and how it works in new ways, and to understand the beauty of the system even when I am feeling it grate. I'm not quite at the stage of 'anything to get elected' but I can understand it is not as flawed and immoral a stance as it can at first appear.
Personally I tend to admire U.S. politicians, they seem to have an integrity that our own lack, and Sen. Obama strikes me as a good man. Speaking as a non-participant I hope he wins, although I cannot afford to set my heart too much on it, because I would rather be ruled by him than either of the others. I think if someone as conservative as me can find Sen. Obama's rhetoric for change appealing, then he is doing what he is doing very well indeed. And I hope that if he does win he doesn't get disowned by the very people who should most welcome him - as Margaret Thatcher was by feminists in this country, who with very few exceptions refuse to acknowledge her even as a woman, let alone as the first female PM.
At least by speaking out about race, if he gets elected he will be elected for what he is, not just for what people hope he might be. I can respect that.
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Date: 2008-03-19 03:04 pm (UTC)I think it is though an important part of how and why democracy works. The fact that in order to get elected a politician has to be able to appeal to the majority slows down the process of change, and while that can be regrettable if a change is what one wants to see, slow change is fundamentally more stable and thus more likely to lead to the greater happiness of the greater number along the way. Or to put it another way, you can see this by contrast with the other extreme where revolutions always have high casualty rates.
It is an old saw that nations have to earn democracy for themselves by reaching a certain state of mental willingness, but I have found that is true on an individual level as well. Like you, I support a party which has been out of power for many years now, and as well as patience it has taught me to look at democracy and how it works in new ways, and to understand the beauty of the system even when I am feeling it grate. I'm not quite at the stage of 'anything to get elected' but I can understand it is not as flawed and immoral a stance as it can at first appear.
Personally I tend to admire U.S. politicians, they seem to have an integrity that our own lack, and Sen. Obama strikes me as a good man. Speaking as a non-participant I hope he wins, although I cannot afford to set my heart too much on it, because I would rather be ruled by him than either of the others. I think if someone as conservative as me can find Sen. Obama's rhetoric for change appealing, then he is doing what he is doing very well indeed. And I hope that if he does win he doesn't get disowned by the very people who should most welcome him - as Margaret Thatcher was by feminists in this country, who with very few exceptions refuse to acknowledge her even as a woman, let alone as the first female PM.
At least by speaking out about race, if he gets elected he will be elected for what he is, not just for what people hope he might be. I can respect that.