Forgive me if I seem a bit off, I've been very sick lately and working very hard.
I've been studying the US government for quite a while now while at the same time researching and writing stories about ancient civilizations. Worldbuilding has become somewhat of a hobby of mine of late and it's led be to an interesting conclusion.
There are some pretty good things about dictatorships.
(I know you're shocked but here me out, this will end differently than you might think.)
Don't get me wrong, democracy is cool too. Rights and freedoms being protected by a thick wall of laws that even the government cannot (supposedly) surpass are awesome, but a wise man once told me that the thing that democracies to the best is get nothing accomplished. We become so tied up in red tape that we can't get ANYTHING done to try to advance ourselves as a people. Having a democracy also means that the laws are subject to the votes of the stupid, the ignorant, the prejudiced and the evil people among us, meaning that we will only really ever be slightly better than our lowest common denominator.
Dictatorships, on the other hand, don't have to mess with all of that. No fussing about with opinion polls, no being forced to listen to the inane prattle of racist hillbillies. Things can get DONE.
We do, however, trade freedom for efficiency. They say that despots keep the trains running on time.
perhaps I'm just getting fed up with how hands-off my hands-on government is seeming lately. Nice, normal, decent folk are too busy trying to put food on the table so our laws rest largely in the hands of the absurdly wealthy and the zealous fanatics, the two people I trust the least.
I've come to the conclusion that the only way to have a perfect government is to have a truly benevolent dictatorship. The dictator would have to understand everything, know everything, care about everyone and know how to get things done with an absolute mindfulness towards helping everyone.
In short, we'd need a god. No one mortal cold embody these things, and since no god is coming down to do it (and theocracies are led by men who speak for god but not the god itself), we can never have a perfect government.
So what? So we cant be perfect, what else is new?
The only thing to do is the only thing we can, try our best. Try to be reasonable. Try to be loving. Understand that we may be wrong and work to make it right. Look out for one anothers rights and choices, even if we don't necessarily agree with them. Exercise some moral and political courage.
That's all anyone can ask.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
... about the power of belief.
This one is guaranteed to offend SOMEONE, so apologies in advance. We all have our opinion, this one just contains mine.
Today is the National Day of Prayer, the first Thursday of May. This is an interesting custom to say the least, especially in a nation like this one. Looking at newscasts and other media covering this day devoted to deism it made me wonder...
Were we founded as (and thus are we) a Christian nation?
This is a topic covered largely at the front end of the class for which I write this blog, but I feel today that it is especially to bring up. After much deliberation in the class we all walked back to our corners with bloodied scars, all clinging to our own beliefs. Indeed, if men have died over the debate of how God should be involved in the rights of man, IF God should be involved can spark even more ire. from that discussion, and from the book Founding Faith, i came to this conclusion.
No.
We are a nation FOUNDED by Christians. There's a difference.
My logic goes as follows. Contrary to the romanticized version, our forefathers were not of one mind about God or His place in government. Each member of the founders was of a one belief or another and the only way that they could agree to all work together was to make sure that no one of themwould have an advantage. THAT, I feel, is the real core behind equal rights and the First Amendment's clause prohibiting the government from favoring one church over another.
Since then, we have come to the understanding that this was a core belief, equality, and I agree. Whatever created the idea it has spawned something we hold dear, and that ideal is something to be protected.
This is an example of a theeory I'm working on, that "what actually happened is less important than what we think happened, or how we remember it, and how that memory effects us."
What do you think?
Today is the National Day of Prayer, the first Thursday of May. This is an interesting custom to say the least, especially in a nation like this one. Looking at newscasts and other media covering this day devoted to deism it made me wonder...
Were we founded as (and thus are we) a Christian nation?
This is a topic covered largely at the front end of the class for which I write this blog, but I feel today that it is especially to bring up. After much deliberation in the class we all walked back to our corners with bloodied scars, all clinging to our own beliefs. Indeed, if men have died over the debate of how God should be involved in the rights of man, IF God should be involved can spark even more ire. from that discussion, and from the book Founding Faith, i came to this conclusion.
No.
We are a nation FOUNDED by Christians. There's a difference.
My logic goes as follows. Contrary to the romanticized version, our forefathers were not of one mind about God or His place in government. Each member of the founders was of a one belief or another and the only way that they could agree to all work together was to make sure that no one of themwould have an advantage. THAT, I feel, is the real core behind equal rights and the First Amendment's clause prohibiting the government from favoring one church over another.
Since then, we have come to the understanding that this was a core belief, equality, and I agree. Whatever created the idea it has spawned something we hold dear, and that ideal is something to be protected.
This is an example of a theeory I'm working on, that "what actually happened is less important than what we think happened, or how we remember it, and how that memory effects us."
What do you think?
Sunday, May 3, 2009
... about school.
Another less serious post. Can't all be zingers.
Well, the year is winding down and my time here is drawing ever closer to a close. This suits me just fine, not because I wont miss this, but because I wont be forced to worry about it. That's really the major problem for me, forcing me to worry about things. It shows up in just about every class I'm in, even my English classes. I love reading, I eat books up regularly, but if you assign me one to read I don't even want to crack the cover.It's sad, but true and a lot of my friends agree with me.
What's my answer, you ask? Well, for once, I don't have one. Having students assign their own reading seems like an easily legitimized excuse for laziness. While it is legitimate strategy and can be productive at making children read when they normally would not I could read the same book in every English class and never get any better.
This isn't to say that the alternative is that great... the popularity of websites like sparknotes and the like make reading all but unnecessary for most books, not to mention wikipedia (though to be fair I use it often for outlines). Lastly there's the simple fact that any clever student worth their salt can pull information off the students who are actually doing the work in groups without doing any work themselves. This bothers me, since, throughout high school I was the one being coppied off of.
School is a tough one, one we all worry about. Are children learning what we want them to? do we want them to be learning what they really should be learning? Are teachers doing enough?Are they forced to do to much? Are administrators acting too much like parents? Are parents not acting enough like teachers?
So many questions... I cant answer them all, esspecially with the stress of finals coming up.
So I open the flore to discussion on the topic. Rip away, I'll answer if I can in later posts.
Well, the year is winding down and my time here is drawing ever closer to a close. This suits me just fine, not because I wont miss this, but because I wont be forced to worry about it. That's really the major problem for me, forcing me to worry about things. It shows up in just about every class I'm in, even my English classes. I love reading, I eat books up regularly, but if you assign me one to read I don't even want to crack the cover.It's sad, but true and a lot of my friends agree with me.
What's my answer, you ask? Well, for once, I don't have one. Having students assign their own reading seems like an easily legitimized excuse for laziness. While it is legitimate strategy and can be productive at making children read when they normally would not I could read the same book in every English class and never get any better.
This isn't to say that the alternative is that great... the popularity of websites like sparknotes and the like make reading all but unnecessary for most books, not to mention wikipedia (though to be fair I use it often for outlines). Lastly there's the simple fact that any clever student worth their salt can pull information off the students who are actually doing the work in groups without doing any work themselves. This bothers me, since, throughout high school I was the one being coppied off of.
School is a tough one, one we all worry about. Are children learning what we want them to? do we want them to be learning what they really should be learning? Are teachers doing enough?Are they forced to do to much? Are administrators acting too much like parents? Are parents not acting enough like teachers?
So many questions... I cant answer them all, esspecially with the stress of finals coming up.
So I open the flore to discussion on the topic. Rip away, I'll answer if I can in later posts.
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