We the peeps

We the peeps 

   A gathering of politically fueled friends at a local brewery engaged in a spirited debate about whether we live in a true democracy. They went back and forth, arguing how terminology makes all the difference. Qualifiers like “direct,” “representative” and “constitutional” were batted back and forth like ping-pong balls. The idea of a republic briefly surfaced only to be slammed into oblivion when the bad boys of socialism, aristocracy, oligarchy, dictatorship and tyranny challenged the lightweights to an arm-wrestling match at the table. 

While the fray frazzled, I googled the word freedom, hoping that whatever form of government emerged would include that concept. And, I wanted to be prepared for what freedom really means without listening to “Me and Bobby McGee” again. 

Unfortunately, my research proved unsatisfying. They were hardly listening to each other, so I saved what I’d found to mull over and draw a few of my own conclusions. The online dictionary defines “idiocracy” as a form of government based on abstract theory (whatever that means), but I prefer to embrace the second usage: “a society ruled by idiots.” My conclusions serve more like a prognosis, in case an inebriated philosopher muddies the water with an infusion of terminology. 

Peep #1:

• Some citizens vote, but nearly half remain silent. 

• Mail-in voting, our least burdensome way to vote, is too easily declared a fraud.

• In order for the status quo to remain in power, dissenters exercising their right to vote must be discouraged, often by claiming they’re ineligible due to race, religion, gender or by simple chicanery. 

• Bureaucratic red tape works best when (and if) these voters show; it sends them back home for additional paperwork and then back to the end of the line.

• Entire voting districts are gerrymandered to lean heavily toward an outcome that favors one party, race or class. 

• Foreign governments are invited to participate in choosing our leaders, only a step away from having them participate as members of the cabinet.         

• Idiocracies operate campaigns that require enormous influxes of cash. 

• The concept of “one dollar, one vote” conveniently converts into successful election math for cashflow politics. 

• Wealth multiplies influence, and lavish donations to the winning party result in cushy, unqualified appointments to public office.

Peep #2: 

• Criticism of the ruling class prompts reprisal, starting with name-calling to dehumanize, shifting to lies and orders mandating detention/deportation.  

• Injustice defends itself with an ultimatum that sounds an awful lot like a slogan: “America, love it or leave it.” 

• Bullets fly like self-righteous flags in an idiocracy, and the gun barrel serves as its mast.  

• Freedom of speech and the press are surreptitiously suspended and replaced with the double-speak of propaganda. 

• Phony threats and national emergencies are declared to vindicate the overreach of power.

• Where peaceful protesters gather, troops move in like militarized municipal workers to clear the streets. 

• Nostalgia substitutes for science, and the truth is replaced by superstition.

• Idiocratic economic statistics are elastic and can be stretched like bungee cords. 

• People who compile the “wrong” data can be erased if the data makes the ruling party look bad.

• Social media is turned into a blunt digital club for spreading disinformation and manipulating the masses.

But back at the brewery – as the beer barrels on – the political discussion morphs into a sporting event. Bystanders cheer for one side, then the other. The future, still sitting in a chair, closes its eyes. 

You see, the future knows it doesn’t matter how you define any system of government. Authority does not necessarily mean leadership. It’s all an inescapable swing of a pendulum, back and forth, like an argument with yourself. What can be done for the good of the community will most likely be accomplished by the many passionate individuals who stand together in the shadows. By its actions, the government will earn the name it deserves. 

The future is also certain about one more thing: in a true idiocracy, the idiot will occasionally be king.