Raise the Hammer

Gonna be Devil's Ad again, Ben, just because it's fun.

First off, good article. You've pointed out many of the flaws in our democracy that most of us reading RTH are probably deeply concerned about. However, I've got to challenge you on the remark that our democracy is nowhere near "good enough." The fact is, look around. MOST people in this country are living "good enough." The vast majority of us have jobs, we have universal health care that works "good enough." It really does. Children have free education until the end of high school, and University tuition (despite complaints by people like me) is reasonably affordable, and is definitely worth the investment in the long run. We are not threatened daily by suicide bombers, disease, starvation, natural disasters, pollution (arguably...), forced imprisonment. We have even elininated much of the discrimination in our society, so that IN GENERAL, anyone of any race, gender, size, age can feel free to do anything they want.

The point is, our country is indeed "good enough," and I think this is why most people are not as passionate about government as they used to be.

Unfortunately, as good as things are, there are still many issues worth fighting for (as you've eloquently pointed out). Poverty, the environment, electoral reform are all important issues and are holding us back from being an even better place to live. The goal should be to improve our country (and our world) at every opportunity. Sadly, most people do not think collectively in this society. Once we have our car, our house, and our HiDef TV, we are content with life. It seems like we all just want a piece of the pie (bigger than everyone else's, of course) rather than focusing on making the pie tastier, or bigger so that we can all eat more.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Keep demanding...