Ünday, Matamín 4th, 7703 (Tuesday, 02-08-2011) Cultural Post #9: The Problems With Human Cultures

*** Special Three-Part Series: #2 of 3:

"The Culture Of God Versus The Cultures Of Humanity" ***

“Nothing appears more surprising to those who

consider affairs with a philosophical eye than

the ease with which the many are governed by the few…”.
(David Hume)

“The best minds are not in government.

If any were, business would steal them away…”.
(Ronald Reagan)

“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government,

except all the others that have been tried…”.
(Winston Churchill)

“Democracy means simply

the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people…”.
(Oscar Wilde)

“Government of the busy by the bossy for the bully…”.
(Arthur Seldon)

“A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where

fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine…”.
(Thomas Jefferson)

“Democracy is the only system that persists in asking

the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be…”.
(Sydney J. Harris)

“Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either [aristocracy or monarchy].

Remember, democracy never lasts long.  It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.

There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide…”.
(John Adams)

“As i would not be a slave, so i would not be a master.

This expresses my idea of democracy…”.
(Abraham Lincoln)

“The best argument against democracy is a

five minute conversation with the average voter…”.
(Winston Churchill)

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary…”.
(James Madison)

“The best government is that which teaches us to govern ourselves…”.
(Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)

Today, in the second of a three-part series on the cultures of humanity versus the culture of heaven, i want to examine some of the aspects of democracy and explain why it is not — as a form of government — either heavenly or godly in its nature.  In tomorrow’s post (a theological post as are all Wednesday articles), i will examine the culture of heaven.  For that reason, i have placed several quotes in this article — most of which touch on problems with democracy as a form of government.

Let’s be clear about one thing: we know what the only righteous form of government is, because it is currently in effect in the Kingdom of God.  Since it is the form of government that God chooses to employ in His own Kingdom, then we can know that it is the form of government He intended humanity to inherit from Him.  That form of government is known as a “kingdom,” and democracy is about as opposite of a kingdom as one can imagine.  Hume argued: “Nothing appears more surprising to those who consider affairs with a philosophical eye than the ease with which the many are governed by the few…”.  This has long been one of my favorite governmental quotes, because it captures the fascination that people have with why they do things.

Why do people submit to other people?  Why is the phenomenon of influence such a powerful thing.  In the recent movie The King’s Speech, the king of England says to a girl who asks him what Hitler is saying with such great passion & fervor as they watch him on video, “i don’t know, but he seems to be saying it rather well.”  It is obvious that some human beings speak or act or lead or perform or whatever with an enormous power to enthrall others — whether that power be derived from personal charisma or penetrating intellect or beautiful movement or whatever.  People have the capacity to captivate one another, but that capacity is intended to be used to fascinate instead of captivate….

This amazing capacity to gain & hold the attention of others was intended be a good ability received from God to be used as a way of showing each other His myriad attributes (since no one human being can manifest all the various wonderful attributes of an infinite God), but — instead — it gets perverted by our enemy into a calculated & manipulative power grab in an attempt to provide ourselves security apart from God (a mirage if ever there was one) and then this perversion of the God-gift is distorted by those of us who are playing the role of “captor” as a way of feeding our own egos, feeling good about ourselves by masking our deficits, medicating our ills, & distracting ourselves from our pains, and exalting ourselves by assuming roles that are beyond our purview.  We even teach people in classes on speaking or dance or drama or whatever how to “get the audience to eat out of the palm of Your hand” or “have the people hang on Your every word” or any other number of euphemisms that we use to describe this manipulative power grab.  It was not intended originally to be that way….

No, but rather the ability to mesmerize one another with any number of skills, postures, gifts, etc. was intended by our Creator to result in a good, profitable, and beneficial affect on one another.  A kingdom, as we will discuss tomorrow, is the proper context and the only righteous form of a government that allows for each member of the kingdom to properly impress the other members in ways that support, inspire, affirm, etc. them while remaining in a proper posture toward God of humility, gratitude, and partnership.  When You wonder why some people can acquire or amass or keep power so easily over so many folks, remember that — as human beings — we are built to be able to both cultivate creation and to rule over that creation.  That is now — and has always been — both our mandate and our purpose….

So, why do people submit to one another?  Well, the reason for that must be understood as a divine coin of two aspects merged together: fatherhood and leadership.  i have not the time to go into either of these topics here, but these are the two great needs of every human being: family & society.  As social creatures who wither without the affection of Loved ones and languish without the ability to contribute, every person is designed to flourish in the Loving, secure, & empowering climate of a family and to contribute in the affirming, ordered, & creative context of a society.  Without these parameters, human beings are diminished: they know less about who they Truly are, they feel like less than they Truly are, and they act unlike who they Truly are….

These two great needs cause people to look to others for guidance, because all of us know intuitively that we are not complete within ourselves and — even if we were — there would be no one to appreciate it if we were indeed by ourselves.  Marriage is the fundamental building block of family, and government is the fundamental building block of society.  A father is the head of a household, and a king is the head of a government.  So, people look to others to give them what they need from both a father and a king, and — when they find someone acceptable to them for either or both of those roles (whatever they choose to call those roles) — they acquiesce to that person in the hopes that their submission will be rewarded with what they need….

In our American capitalist version of democracy, people view success in the private sector as more important than success in the public sector.  It is the opposite in countries that have governmental forms like socialism or communism.  This is why Ronald Reagan quipped, ““The best minds are not in government.  If any were, business would steal them away…”.  The idea is that private businesses derived from personal ownership (sole proprietorship), joint endeavors (mutually-owned, limited partnerships), or stock enterprises (publicly-owned, share-oriented corporations) can — and should (at least in many people’s minds) — pay more than public services derived from government (military, regulatory, social, or auxiliary agencies).  In a communist, socialist, fascist, or otherwise non-democratic, non-Republic type of government, the government wants the best & brightest workers to work in it for its purposes.  In Republics or democracies (or drug cartels or multi-national (what i call “super-national”) corporations like Microsoft, for that matter), the allure of freedom entices people to want to exercise their “right” to jump social strata and take advantage of the opportunity to move up the unspoken (or sometimes spoken) caste system and improve their lot in Life.  Most times, this happens by increasing their financial wealth (businesspeople or what the ancient world referred to as the merchant class), power profile (executives, for example), or anonymity index (the level of fame achieved by, for example, professional athletes in the days before the money was so extravagant).  Rabbi Paul argued for what he terms “profitable freedom,” but that kind of others-centric, self-control is rarely seen in democracies.

Reagan was expressing the reality that, in America, the work government does isn’t as important as government allowing people to chase their own dreams (doing Your own thing), and, therefore & consequentially, roles of public service in governmental agencies are not deemed as impressive as roles of private ambition such as entrepreneurship, the traditional professions (clergy, law, & medicine), or entertainment (just to name a few).  This shouldn’t come as a surprise, because America has always been based on individual rights instead of the rights of the state (like on abortion, for example).  Slavery was overturned on the basis that each individual has inalienable rights from God and, therefore, should never be subjected to forced servitude of another (but more about that later).  One of the main points i am trying to make in this article is that the notion that people should be encouraged to do whatever they want is a bad idea.  It ignores too much reality to let people chase dreams without any grounding.  That may seem incredibly harsh, but i assure You it is not.  It is, indeed, the only Truly spiritual view….

Winston Churchill has been the first quoted as saying (so far as we know, anyway), ““It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried…”.  This statement belies another fundamental, worldly fallacy: namely, that we must settle for something inadequate, broken, and only slightly less tyrannical than its predecessors (never mind his assumption that a kingdom was a form of government that had been tried and found lacking & wanting and should be discarded).  Given Churchill’s background as an Englishmen and the arc of the governmental evolution that Great Britain had experienced by his day, it is not surprising that he eschewed & dismissed kingdom as a legitimate form of government.  The Truth is that democracy is not the worst form of government except all the others — it is simply worse (albeit much worse) than a thriving kingdom ruled by a benevolent king.  Referencing Hume again (or at least alluding to him), it is amazing to me that people will tolerate something as awful as a democracy or a republic when a kingdom is available to them.

However, the seeds of their tolerance lie in the fact that — in their minds (or perhaps experience in rare cases) — kings rule for their own benefit instead of for the benefit of the people.  What is ironic to me is that they want to chastise kings for this behavior and say that they would do it differently, but — in reality when they are given the freedom to do it differently — they use that freedom to do the very same thing: to benefit themselves primarily (through business or whatever) instead of benefiting others.  Everyone knows deep down in their hearts that a kingdom ruled by a strong, merciful, benevolent king would be the best option; we just doubt that there is anyone like that.  This is why David having a heart after God’s own heart was so important, and — no — that statement does not mean that David was perfect or never made mistakes.  It pertains to the fact that — despite his frailties, weaknesses, blind spots, bad judgments, immaturities, rebellion, and other faults or deficiencies — David ruled in a way that glorified God and benefited people.  This is why James contends that Love covers a multitude of sins, because it does according to the One Who determines what — if anything — covers sins.  By the way, this argument for democracy or something worse sounds suspiciously like the one now being rejected by the most thoughtful members of our democracy as a false choice argued by President Mubarak in Egypt.  For years, he argued that his tyrannical, repressionist, evil regime was not necessarily good, but it was certainly much better than the Islamofascist alternative.  No dice, Hosni, and no dice to You, either, Winston.  Nice try, though….

Not only does democracy place the rights of a free individual in a paramount position to the destiny of a Divine creation and also argue that it is good as less of an evil than any other alternative, but democracy is adversarial in nature — by design.  Democracy pits people against each other in competition as a form of Darwinian survival.  i’m never surprised that Darwin reached the absurd conclusions that he did, but i am not sure how any astute observer (unless informed by the mind of Christos & the illumination of the Holy Spirit) could come to any other conclusion after Living in a democracy all of his Life.  You can read my article on competition for more of my views on this (Ünday, Jāseph 27th, 6636 (Tuesday, 02-01-2011); Cultural Post #8: And The Winner Is….), but competition is satanic in both origin and nature.  Wilde laments, “Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people…”.  That is True, in the experience of most people.  Democracy tends to excuse people from caring for the indigent, the less-fortunate, the disabled, the elderly, minorities, and all kinds of other vulnerable demographics, because democracy is — at its core and in its heart — a selfish form of self-government more than it is a selfless form of societal government….

That kind of unchecked self-absorption, tunnel-vision, and insensitivity lead to vanity, conceit, & moral bankruptcy.  People who thrive in a democracy spiritually do so only because they allow someone (a grandmother, a disabled child, an unjustly condemned prisoner — someone) to call them to a higher purpose, but Y’shua Christos has already called us to a higher purpose.  It should not be that disciples of Y’shua have to have someone else call them to something when their Master has already called them to it Himself.  Seldon critiques, “Government of the busy by the bossy for the bully…”.  Democracy is a distraction that allows us to busy ourselves with activity devoid of lasting purpose, to improve our own lot in Life without benefiting others around us, and to move forward in terms of social mobility while leaving behind those to whom we are ordained to minister most.  It is disgusting to watch people move away from their extended families for a job promotion that brings more wealth-oriented compensation at the personal cost of broken relationships between grandparents & grandchildren, husbands & wives, and friends, of more work & less rest, and of an uprooting from the geographical, historical, & tribal heritage from which they emerge.  All of that destruction over a little, rotten, soon-to-be-gone carrot dangled by a boss who made the same stupid decision years before and now needs others to make the same mistakes in order to justify himself and feel less awful about it….

And while most people are distracted by the chance to be free and run wild headlong after their own desires, a mentality emerges to justify their pursuits (like Life, Liberty, & happiness — sound familiar?) despite the costs of those pursuits to everyone affected.  Thomas Jefferson put it this way, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine…”.  Even in Greece and Rome, when the notions of republic and democracy were warping ahead at unprecedented speeds (despite the pull backwards by Caesars and such), there was a basic understanding that people had a station in Life determined by “the gods” and that to run counter to that was inviting ruin.  Now, however, running counter to the ordained path is not even taboo; in fact, it is admired.  The U.S.A. is currently mired in a cultural split with about 47% on either side and about 6% in the middle who swing rudderless between competing ideologies.  Mob rule, although the mob is absent conviction and a minority 6%.  Hey, that’s what happens when everyone’s vote counts the same: people cancel out people.  Stupid people cancel out brilliant people, bad people cancel out good people, extreme people cancel out reasonable people, ignorant people cancel out informed people, etc., etc.  Ever heard thing like “Everyone’s doing it, “ “that many people can’t be wrong, right?” or “the center holds”? Choose the better way: Love as a transient being with an eternal purpose….

Apparently, mob rule was deemed acceptable, because the founders were smart enough to institute a sharing of power and a dissemination of responsibility (often referred to as “a system of checks & balances).  Well, how’s that system of checks & balances working out for Ya?  Did it keep the bankers from ruining Your 401(k) or Your mortgage value or Your job stability in the past five years?  Has the distribution of power amongst the three branches of government or, more recently, presidential term-limits made it more likely that imperfect people will work together and solve problems?  Has the concept of accountability kept our governmental systems free of bureaucratic red-tape, fraud, corruption, constituent abuse, systemic lethargy, etc.?  Checks & balances are a human attempt at a divine solution: judgment.  The problem is they don’t work for any number of reasons — not the least of which is a lack of what i call “useful authority” (which means that authority must be used as a part of a broader understanding of leadership and not alone as a method of manipulation).  For example, in America people often refer to the courts as their “justice system” when there is no such thing.  Justice is not the purview of human beings — we are not capable of administering “justice.”  We do not have a justice system — we have a “legal system” that is adversarial in nature, punitive or rehabilitative in responsiveness, retributive in restoration, and vengeful in administration.  Nothing about any of that smacks of justice.  Thank God that He does not allow any of us to dispense justice.  Sydney Harris remarks, “Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be…”.  i would submit to You that neither the powers that be nor the citizens have either the right or the information to ask that question….

All of this leads to the inevitable conclusion that anyone can see from all previous democracies: they fail.  John Adams described the inescapable deduction thusly, “Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either [aristocracy or monarchy].  Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.  There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide…”.  Yes, democracy eventually fails, just as every other human form of government eventually is toppled by passionate people thinking they have stumbled across something new — something that is, this time let’s all hope, bound to work.  People think communism failing proves it doesn’t work — and they’re right to an extent.  But democracy doesn’t work long-term, either.  The fact is that no system of human government works.  As Psalms 2 contends,

“Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing ?  The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against YHWH (Blessed be His Holy Name) and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!”  He who sits in the heavens laughs — the Lord scoffs at them.  Then, He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.  I will surely tell of the decree of YHWH (Blessed be His Holy Name): ‘He said to Me, “You are My Son — today I have begotten You.  Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.  You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.” ’ ”  Now therefore, O kings, show discernment!  ake warning, O judges of the earth!  Worship YHWH (Blessed be His Holy Name) with reverence, and rejoice with trembling.  Do homage to the Son that He not become angry and You perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled.  How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

In this realization that democracy is essentially a vanity indulged by ignorant youths and idealistic aged, there emerges a “Live & let Live” kind of attitude.  Just let me be free, and leave me alone.  This is the heart of the libertarians: no masters.  Their view ignores the obvious (that there are indeed masters, and everyone has at least one — in fact, in a democracy, most people have multiple masters instead of just one, and we all remember what Y’shua said about trying to please more than one master) and doesn’t take into account that there should be masters.  Slavery is not immoral.  Yes, i am aware of what i just asserted.  Western people have been educated and conditioned to think that slavery is immoral, but it is not immoral.  Bad masters and bad slaves are both immoral, but the notion of slavery itself is not immoral.  As long as people have been extant, there have been voluntary forms of slavery in varying degrees from indentured to permanent.  And — if You are pro-democracy — You can’t argue that slavery is immoral, because that would mean You deny people the right to go their own way and make their own choice to enslave themselves to something or someone.  Today, Americans are primarily economic slaves, although more abhorrent forms of slavery exist all over the world from the sex trades to gangs in chaotic places in anarchy to the repression of religions like Islam.  Abraham Lincoln used to say, “As i would not be a slave, so i would not be a master.  This expresses my idea of democracy…”.  Well, Abe, i guess You missed it, then, because You were called to be a master when You were created.  The only question is not whether or not You should have been a master, but over what and over whom.  We all have a Master — even kings.  Clearly, being subject to a master is not ungodly or evil or any of that nonsense.  Being subject to a master is a right and proper thing — as long as it is ordained by God Himself.

This leads us to the last arc of this particular post and the segue to tomorrow’s post: ruling.  Is there anything worse than ignorance regarding how to rule?  Can there be anything worse?  Churchill was right about something when he said, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter…”.  The knowledge of how to properly rule is essential to a ChristLife as a disciple of Y’shua.  It is indispensable to being of benefit to others.  It is vital to glorifying God.  We will touch on the basics of how to rule in tomorrow’s post.

Some assume that there is a place somewhere that rule is unnecessary.  For example, James Madison used to flippantly say, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary…”.  Uh, yes, Jamie, angels do need government, or did You forget that Lucifer is an angel and took a third of the angels with him in a rebellion?  How absurd.  If any beings need governing, it is angels.  Granted, there are no perfect people, but everyone needs governing — especially children who are heirs and will grow up to administrate the family fortune (You) and especially the servants to those heirs (angels).

One of my favorite quotes is by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, “The best government is that which teaches us to govern ourselves…”.  Amen.  God teaches us ultimately to regulate ourselves by first submitting to His government in our Lives as our King.  LORD Y’shua is our Master.  The Holy Spirit brings us into alignment with Him and instructs us as our teacher in the ways of righteousness.  It is with the context of a kingdom that freedom finds its profitable result of submission to righteous authority for the purpose of beneficial government.  Democracy leads to a selfish kind of self-indulgence that is only satiated by more & more excess and less & less denial.  It is critical that we understand the difference between the culture of Heaven and the cultures of this world in which we Live….