Politics and Democracy - Think Critically, Be Vociferous and Take Action on Things that Matter

I enjoy writing blogs, yet it takes time for a self employed entrepreneur/consultant/educator and parent to write – even though I can write fast – doing the research, getting the flow, edit and put it out there is an effort.

I write when I am prompted by a current event or something that has been gnawing away at me about the way the world is or has become.

                                     Image -BuzzFeed

I am inspired by Martin Luther King when he said;

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Therefore, I get outside my comfort zone to write on politics, religion, leadership, business and spirituality - pushing boundaries based on my own experience, knowledge and wisdom, realizing that I may not have it all right. 

I share my opinions and ideas to inquire - provoke thought and educate in a way that is not combative and judgmental, but to look at all angles.

My Vested Interest

As I write and inquire, I attempt to get to the root causes as to why we are where we are in the world today. I think critically in a world where vested interests rule and a political system that appears to be broken.

My own vested interest is to help people gain power by thinking critically to make mature, reasonable decisions. To do that, one has to step back, gain space to see the whole picture and be objective. 

One way I know how is by being mindful - to take a few breaths, say 'observe' to myself, become present and rational. This helps me to step away from the emotional grip of the message to gain perspective, so I have more choices in the way I respond.

That is important in today’s politics as the decisions we make at the local, provincial, national and even global levels are crucial for our happiness, well-being and the future. 

Coming back to my vested interest - I want to live in a world that is at peace - diverse cultures living in harmony, a world where everyone has a chance to live with their basic needs met, to be happy and flourish – check Maslow https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html. 

That is why I am not silent about things.  If I educate and move a few people with my advocacy, I can say 'I was not silent about things that matter'.   

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Democracy and Politics

Politics, which is so dominant in our lives, has become bigoted, corrosive, divisive and irresponsible, according to John Feldsted, Political Consultant & Strategist .

He goes on to say;

“We don’t need politics to run a democracy. Political parties are a modern version of stone-age tribes. We don’t need political parties, but political parties can’t exist without a democracy to prey on”.

Democracy, which means “rule by the people”, has been recorded in history as far back as 599 BC in Vajji,  Vaishali, India.  

Ganarajya  was the term used for a republic where the head of state or the king was chosen by people's votes.

Greeks of ancient Athens also described their city-state's system of self-rule as democracy around 430 B.C. under the skilled orator and politician Pericles.

However, only a small proportion of the Athenian community could vote in that 5th century BC's direct democracy, which evolved with the 11th century Magna Carta of the British Isles to the representative democracy of modern western societies from the 17th century. 

Modern representative democracies enshrine the rights of the citizens, curtail the power of the the crown and state to grant agency to the 'people' through the right to vote.  

While today’s democracy engages people with some level of decision-making, they are defined by the premise of distrust in the ability of human populations to make a direct judgement about candidates or decisions on issues.[i]  

This distrust is at an all time high, which leads voters to usher in  self-obsessed, insensitive and manipulative leaders like Trump and Bolsanaro around the world. They nor the corporate profit driven neo-liberal elites are fit to lead  modern interconnected democracies with its complexities. 

The paradox is, Trump supporters, for instance, do have legitimate grievances related to a system not serving them for which he has found scapegoats in immigrants and trade. This tack combined with his emotional bluster taken too far could whip up a frenzy to tear the US apart.  This is alarming many reasonable people. 

As such, Trump and others are awakening and mobilizing a normally apathetic citizenry in many democratic nations seeking to change the status quo, which is timely.  

Image - Mises Institute

American poet Walt Whitman would be curious to see what is happening today as he wrote in the 1870s in his work Democracy in the New World;

 “I can conceive of no better service in the United States, henceforth, by democrats of thorough and heart-felt faith, than boldly exposing the weakness, liabilities and infinite corruptions of democracy.”[ii]

Unconscious Incompetence

The Dunning-Kruger Effect explains how we make poor choices in electing leaders: as many people in any given subject tend to overestimate their own capacity.  As the psychologists behind the theory, David Dunning and Justin Kruger succinctly stated, “difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.”

Voters who are uninformed about the issues government deals with and do not recognize the blind-spots, can be easy prey for manipulation. 

This unconscious incompetence leads us voters to believe we understand matters we don’t. We think our judgement is based on facts and reasoning, when in reality it is based on manipulation through spin via the various media.  This delusion is so apparent in today's mass support for megalomaniacs around the democratic world.

Having learned this, I have to be mindful myself of my blind-spots.  Then I have to stop my thoughts to reflect to unearth my own biases and prejudices nurtured and drummed into me to colour my worldview.  

Taking a deep breath and saying 'observe' gives me the space and the power to not blindly follow someone no matter how famous or prophetic they are - even if they promise to 'make things great again'.    

Only then can I assess the impact - the causes and effects of 'making things great' on the larger system as a whole and be more strategic about my decisions in the larger common interest, rather than follow the herd and let things happen.  

That may put me out of step with others, may even invite scorn, yet if I am to be true to myself, I have to try my best to stand up to it - question it and resist it.

Beware of the Media

We have to safeguard the free media being aware of their possible biases - to think critically about what we hear and see.  Media owned by private individuals, corporations and even governments may have vested interests - whether its corporate and/or political.

I remember, watching the same story on the US invasion of Iraq on CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera and hearing three different versions to realize who that version of the story will benefit.

In my last article Illusion of Self and the Truth of Non-Self; https://lalithanandagunaratne.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-illusion-of-self.html

I quoted the father of public relations Edward Bernays who wrote in his 1928 book Propaganda; 

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.“

Our limbic mind is an open loop system. Everything we see,  hear, taste and feel gets embedded in our psyche - consciously and subconsciously through our senses.  We form our worldviews and opinions based on these consistent and reinforced messages, whether they are fake or not.  

It then becomes difficult to discern the real truth.    

My friend and colleague at the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome - https://canadiancor.com/ - John Verdon says "truth is dead, long live honesty".  Honesty is a personal matter and we have the power to seek the truth. 

That is why, we as individuals have to take responsibility to be mindful and reflect - think critically to be more informed to seek the truth to act.   

Critical thinking is about weighing the pros and cons as objectively as possible, assessing the 'facts' - where, how and who the message comes from and reaching an informed conclusion, knowing that this conclusion is dynamic too depending on the ever changing conditions. 

Smoke and Mirrors

My inquiry on democracy then begins with the notion that it has been hijacked - it is not working as it was originally intended by process that commenced with the 11th century Magna Carta.  The Magna Carta was initiated by barons and magnates who wanted to stem the power of the rapacious King John of 11th century Britain.  Over the centuries it evolved as a charter of rights and privileges for the people, which form the founding principles of most modern democracies around the world.   

 

Therefore, we deem the democratic (and the economic) system the best we have, even though it seems to be captured by the corporations.  We do not consider other options as we are limited by our worldviews based on recent history – communism, fascism. Nazism - which have been proven wrong.  

We then accept the status quo and turn a blind eye to how countries like Switzerland and Singapore are run. 

Switzerland's direct democracy allows any citizen to launch a popular initiative to change the constitution.  It also has a referendum process to gain popular consent for any significant changes to its policies and laws.  

Singapore's unique brand of representative democracy honor the rights of the community over the individual's for the common good.  Switzerland and Singapore have some of the world's highest indices for quality of life and well-being.  

These nations are by no means perfect, but politics is not based on personalities - hero worship, as we do not even know who heads the government of Switzerland, for instance. 

The point is, apart from these and the Scandinavian nations, our modern western democracies seem broken today - seeing the separation of people and nations; violence and wars; the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor; changes to the natural environment; the sheer poverty and misery in which many people live – not for the lack of resources, but for the control of those resources by a few.   

Check out Skid Row in Los Angeles 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5214593/Christmas-Day-2017-Downtown-Los-Angeles.html, never mind Dhaka, Nairobi, Mumbai, Jakarta or Mexico City.

                  Image - Rex/Shutterstock

This is why American writer and filmmaker Oliver Stone urged, especially the younger generation of writers to be critical of their government and society at the 2017 Writers Guild Awards.

 “You don’t have to fit in,” Stone said;

“It’s fashionable now to take shots at Republicans and Trump and avoid the Obamas and Clintons. But remember this: In the 13 wars we’ve started over the last 30 years and the $14 trillion we’ve spent, and the hundreds of thousands of lives that have perished from this earth, remember that it wasn’t one leader, but a system, both Republican and Democrat.

Call it what you will: the military industrial money media security complex. It’s a system that has been perpetuated under the guise that these are just wars justifiable in the name of our flag that flies so proudly.”

Privatization of Government

Oliver Stone hit the nail on the head, as our modern democracy turned for worse when corporations started taking control of politics, especially after World War II by way of favours to politicians, political party and campaign contributions. The wars he speaks of are waged to control resources, in turn spurs related businesses and economies with power and profit.

On Jan. 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower gave the nation a dire warning about what he described as a threat to democratic government. He called it the military-industrial complex, a formidable union of defense contractors and the armed forces.

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist."[iii]

It is not only the military industrial complex - it is the oil, pharmaceutical, chemical, agriculture and other large industries, which have perpetual life as limited liability corporations that dominate the world by way of money, power and political patronage. 

As long as limited liability laws give these corporations a license to operate as individual persons, support and fund politicians, lobby governments to suit their profitable ends, this will not change.

In the USA, it is the likes of the Mercer and Koch families - and most 'democratic' nations have their own versions of Kochs and Mercers controlling its political establishment.

Quoting a Washington Post article,

“The Mercers laid the groundwork for the Trump revolution,” Bannon told the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer in March 2017. “Irrefutably, when you look at the donors during the past four years, they have had the single biggest impact of anybody, including the Kochs.”

The article goes onto state about Robert Mercer;

“Bob believes that human beings have no inherent value other than how much money they make,” a colleague told the New Yorker. “If someone is on welfare they have negative value. If he earns a thousand times more than a schoolteacher, then he’s a thousand times more valuable.”[iv]

What about all those mothers and homemakers who nurture and bring up children to be responsible adults?.  

What about the caregivers -  spouses and family members silently looking after ailing loved ones?.

What about the millions of volunteers around the world who help humanity in the time of need?.  

What about spiritual leaders, monks and nuns who help so many to stay spiritually grounded sane in a frenetic world?.

The currency for all the above is LOVE.

If this is what democracy has come to, this inhuman global system has certainly failed most of its people and this earth.

What do I Espouse?

Learning the history and assessing current affairs critically is as important so we become more enlightened rather than fall prey to the Dunning-Kruger effect. We need to think critically, understand better in order to take responsibility for ourselves and make informed decisions and take brave action.

Being silent is not an option, as we know so many people get impacted by decisions made by populist leaders with vested interests, who exploit fears of the uninformed to get themselves into positions of unchecked power. 

This is why 'we the people' have to continue to be mindful, aware, inquire, discuss and oppose this kind of democracy - which is based on the Darwinian notion of “Survival of the Fittest” - conditioning and diminishing the mind to scarcity and fear.

My Optimism

I am not a cynic even though the "fake news" that abounds makes me wonder why I am such an optimist. I am an optimist as I think us humans are smarter than to just focus on the superficial - the impermanent objective material world that arises and ceases.   

If one is mindful - align mind, body and spirit - we can be intuitive, smart and balanced in how we perceive the world, we gain power and make the right decisions in our lives.

Walt Whitman was also optimistic amidst his fears about democracy;

“Though I think I fully comprehend the absence of moral tone in our current politics and business, and the almost entire futility of absolute and simple honor as a counterpoise against the enormous greed for worldly wealth, with the trickeries of gaining it, all through society in our day, I still do not share the depression and despair on the subject which I find possessing many good people.”

There are people of the past and present who inspired us and continue to do so – the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Che Guvera, José Mujica of Uruguay, Juan José Torres of Bolivia, Salvador Allende of Chile, Bob Marley, Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Wangari Maathai of Kenya,  Anita Roddick, Naomi Klein, Ken Soro-Wiwa of Nigeria, Vandana Shiva of India and many many more.  

As diverse as they are/were - they are/were not silent, stand/stood and fight/fought for what is right and some paid the ultimate price for their brave voices and action.  
    

Taking Responsibility for Self through Mindfulness

The current system does not encourage people to think critically or take responsibility for self. The information overload keep most people occupied, meeting their immediate needs in their professional and personal lives.

My work is about educating those to find space for some sacred time - to stop, breathe, meditate, become aware, reflect, inquire, think critically and act - to find the power within.

Then we are not restricted to the conditioned material world based on the 5 senses, but become aware of our unconditioned inner world too, finding balance between the left and right of our complex brains - which gives us so much more power and agency however subtle it is, through a deliberate practice of reflection and mindfulness.

It enables one to move away from emotion to become more strategic by being logical and rational, see the causes and effects, to put things in perspective rather than be emotionally manipulated. 

At least then, we can make up our own minds on important areas such as politics and our democracy from a place of knowing and awareness whether to take action or not, rather than taking action or not through ignorance.   

Tempered Radicals and Taking Action

As economist Joseph Stiglitz said in his book Globalization and its Discontents - "change has to be sequenced and paced" - meaning one has to take into account the weakest that may get impacted by rapid change.

Therefore, this modern democracy of ours has to be transformed within the system thoughtfully and mindfully.  

I like the term Tempered Radical, https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/tempered-radicals-how-people-use-difference-to-inspire-change-at-work - as it is about small wins that begin with our own behaviour and action and not taking the world head on, all at once.

For that, 'we the people' have to think critically, be aware to make skillful decisions for manageable action to shape our democracy to meet its original promise of our ancestors. 

They would be shocked to see how we have regressed in the 21st century - enamored by technology to honour money and material wealth for corporations at the cost of human happiness and well-being.   

The first step in that is not to give our power away by electing self-serving, self-obsessed, corporate captured politicians who will tell you what you want to hear - to gain and stay in power to meet their own selfish ends.  

Do a simple test - will you tolerate a particular behaviour demonstrated by a political candidate in your child, a parent, a family member, a friend, a teacher, a boss?.  

When we compromise on our Values - the very foundations of our society becomes unstable.     

We the people have to come together to research and inquire into corporate patronage of our democratic political system, to educate ourselves so we can demand change of legislation to recreate a more equitable society.  

There is enough wealth and resources to go around to ensure every citizen of the world can have their basic needs met to live in dignity. 

To quote The Guardian article by Simon Tisdall on 7th August 2018; 

"According to the campaign finance watchdog Open Secrets, a whopping $6.5 billion was spent by US presidential and congressional candidates in 2016."

Where does this money come from?

 

We the people pay the price for this.

How do we seek more transparency, expose and shame them to evolve conversations to create more reasonable policies for corporate influence of politicians and governments?.  

This issue is key to changing our democracy and it is endemic in every democratic nation including Switzerland.

The other pillar of democracy is the independent judiciary, which is also being compromised in many nations through politics of ideology, xenophobia, business and money.   

These are complex issues with wheels within wheels and much vested interests. 

Unless we decouple business and politics - corporate patronage will continue to look after its need for short-term profits at the cost of the well-being of society and its people. (v) and (vi).

 
We cannot be silent on things that matter. Our work as citizens of the world is cut out as sitting on the sidelines lets people and institutions hijack our lives and well-being for their short-term selfish gains. 

 

We the people do have what it takes within us to find the middle path - to balance between what we need and want - to be a bit more selfless to care for this earth and its sentient beings - within the very nature of who we are with our primal nature to survive first. 

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[i] Olson, M. (1993). Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development. American Political Science Review, 87(03), 567-576.

[ii] https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/07/26/walt-whitman-specimen-days-democracy/

[iii] https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942244/ikes-warning-of-military-expansion-50-years-later

[iv] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/01/05/rebekah-mercer-the-billionaire-backer-of-bannon-and-trump-chooses-sides/?utm_term=.a11a23657cc0

(v) If you want to learn what is happening in the USA between government and corporations through the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed 

(vi) Listen to Bill Moyer's special "United States of ALEC"  -   https://billmoyers.com/segment/united-states-of-alec/