Apathy - The Social Disease (502 hits)
Category: PoliticsRating: 0.67 on 14 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by FuckTheArmy (View user info) at 2004-10-25 06:36:49 EDT
I was flicking through my diary, and I found this. I know I'm a newbie and I just posted my first a couple hours ago, but this needs only one addendum. Enjoy!
Democracy is only for those who choose to participate. By this I mean that ignorance on the part of the masses leads to a lack of democracy, as media speculation without discussion or thought can easily colour public opinion. This may continue to the stage where a good media representation is by far a better election policy than a realistic observation and practice.
There are people far better qualified to make decisions for the (sociopolitically) ignorant than themselves, but if we could somehow inspire them to think it would likely be to the credit and benefit of society. For this to occur, supercilious publications like 'mX' newspaper would have to be replaced by a political press of sorts; 'Big Brother' and 'Survivor' must be scrapped in favour of debates between analysts and activists; and so forth. Bringing the actual issues to light on a mass scale is the way to incite debate and get people thinking.
Once people are awake, how do they stay awake? How should humans keep their consciousness? How do we keep political reality at the forefront long enough for everyone to think enough that they stay awake? If the method is repetitive, it really doesn't work. It must keep pushing boundaries. But is there a boundary which, if once crossed, cannot be stepped back over?
In theory everything is either cyclical or reversible. No one has yet proven a case otherwise. For this reason we can obtain only a method that is (near enough to) infinitely more difficult to reverse. If you look at it this way, then it is necessary to separate the "irreversible" or very long-term secular trend data from the actual cyclical or "reversible" data.
For example, a two-party Democracy is inevitably reversed, as compared to a one-party state or monarchy, which will eventually moderate or collapse in some way, turning full circle. Our concern here is not so much the phenomena of change as the eventuality of the two-party system within a democracy. Even in seemingly challenged parliaments, if two parties hold the majority of power, they will more likely concentrate on their opinions of the other party than actual issues, in order to win public opinion: this occurs even outside election campaigns, meaning that in effect we have only a political costume-change.
For the most part, this leads to the mockery of governmental processes (such as is the case in the USA, and to a lesser extent, Australia itself) and the slowing, halt, or even reversal, of social progress. This is why it would be beneficial to awaken the masses - they would finally notice what is happening and discuss a solution to be effected. Even if no immediate solution to the problem of a stalled political system is addressed, society can continue to run by the pressure of mass opinion on the government.
Society's ailments (eg. the nursing debates, the poverty line issue) are the first symptoms of a decline into such an unwelcome state. For a relatively rich western-style democracy we are not in the best position for the future. The disease, (for a disease it is), is apathy. The cure is humanity's greatest survival tool: conscious thought.
One more word:
REVOLUTION
User Reviews
Submitted by FuckTheArmy (user info) at 2004-11-24 07:31:30 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Wow. I know this is a bit late in coming, but while I know that much,
I didn't have the US in mind. I'm not from there.
Submitted by Istaros (user info) at 2004-11-15 20:00:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
"we have only a political costume-change."
well said. are you aware that the USA was never designed to be a democracy? the founders of the political system feared the tyranny of the masses just as much as the tyranny of the individual. mob rule, by 90% of the population, is still unfair to that remaining 10%. the basic structure of our political system is excellent, but it has been manipulated and mutated into something that too easily lends itself to disenfranchisement with the people. the power is still in OUR hands, but the problem is that there needs to be a collective rise of interest -the individual has no power, and this IS good, but because of the operative aspects of the USA politik, the individual now also has no interest.
Submitted by hidden101 (user info) at 2004-11-15 19:52:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
this was brilliant.
and fuck ALL of the military. ex AF here. fuck them, too.
Submitted by Seralena (user info) at 2004-10-29 00:48:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Not bad, not bad. You make me proud.
I was linked here from one of my posts. You have someone linkwhoring for you, congratulations.
Submitted by 10c7c (user info) at 2004-10-25 12:15:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Girl on girl! Score!
Submitted by AwesomeJohnson (user info) at 2004-10-25 11:11:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I tried to be apathetic, but I just didn't care.
Submitted by freebie (user info) at 2004-10-25 09:16:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
This made me not care, alot.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2004-10-25 08:43:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
This said a whole lot of nothing.
*Nelson Muntz voice* Diary? HAW-HAW!
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2004-10-25 07:53:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
No Comment
Submitted by I fucked your mama at 2004-10-25 07:52:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
I bet you like to suck alot of dick, dont you?
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2004-10-25 07:06:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
+1 right back atcha. Even though I am a right wing nut-job.
http://www.ubersite.com/m/49615
Submitted by funk_boy (user info) at 2004-10-25 06:59:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was in your diary?
Submitted by cheesedick (user info) at 2004-10-25 06:55:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Fuck you n00b. STFU
Submitted by heyzues (user info) at 2004-10-25 06:42:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO
I didn't read it, but if you just posted your first post a few hours ago, you're going to need this +2 to help out with the shit storm of negative two's that's headed your way.