Some controversial democratic themes

The Norman Transcript

April 07, 2007 01:24 am

— Lloyd Williams
For The Transcript
In our society democracy is a kind of verbal god. Seemingly everyone believes in it -- more or less. But those
who uncritically reverence democracy deceive themselves for the system is imperfect. In fact, all political-
social systems are flawed no matter how carefully crafted. The extent is only a question of degree. On the
other hand, those who demean democracy -- fascists, communists, cynics and miscellaneous authoritarians --
deceive themselves for there is profound wisdom in the democratic idea. Such skeptics corrupt their
understanding of democracy with subjective partiality. Little wonder the contradictions of our society leave us
with uncertainty as to the functions of government and with fears that promote hostility and aggression.
One reason democracy sometimes winds up as an ineffective muddle is our undisciplined inclination to
confuse secondary mechanical processes with the essence of the democratic spirit. For example, the value of
voting is probably the most misjudged aspect of democratic politics. This is naive. The question is not does
the provincial minded citizen have the right to vote? The fundamental question is does the provincial have the
informed understanding to vote wisely? Without serious, objective and intellectual education the odds of
getting an informed vote are very poor. Its citizenry may not know it but a country with marginally informed
electors -- in a world of increasing social, scientific complexity and growing population -- is in grave trouble.
Voting is not synonymous with democracy, nor is it necessarily democratic. Sometimes it is in fact an
obstacle to the flowering of the democratic process. It can impede reform. It can replace insight with
misunderstanding; it can substitute confusion for order. The truth of the matter is we can have democratic
arrangements with little attention to voting. There are two keys to effective voting -- participants must bring
an active intelligence to the process and officials must be honest. American history is filled with corrupt
voting, and we have within recent decades encountered the election of a senator who purloined the votes of
Duval County to assure higher office, and a President whose people manipulated votes to guarantee the White
House. Such indifference to integrity can destroy democracy. Morality and knowledge are absolute
prerequisites for a meaningful democracy. Their rejection guarantees fraud, corruption and venality. What
democracy inescapably calls for is cooperation, sharing and communal agreement.
We deceive ourselves when posing as the exemplar of democracy and then try to export it at the point of a
bayonet. Democracy is not a military commodity for export. In our present fumbling we are not likely to
convince the people of the Near East of the virtues of American democracy. We presumptively demean the
"near eastern mind" and what it can understand. That mind sees clearly the limitations of what we have to
offer, and our disguised quest for oil is transparent. Democracy is not an institution we can package and
transplant at will. Democracy is a vision, an idea, a philosophy that first captivates the human spirit and then
is the object of slow habitual implementation. Its nurture requires will and understanding grounded on resolve
and patience.
All political movements need leaders if they are to advance. In authoritarian systems leaders pursue the
dogmas of the cult and their personal ambitions. The fascists and communists are classical illustrations of
such groups. Americans, although generally well-meaning and generous, tend to overlook the fact that the
goals of these two groups are basically the same. Theoretically the goal of fascism is a corporate state; the
goal of communism is a classless society. But in the power struggles of the world these goals prove to be
rationalizations. Their real goal is power, unopposed control of all social institutions -- the military, the
economy, labor, industry, education, churches and all youth and adult organizations. In a truly democratic
state the mission of the leaders is entirely different. Corrupt political parties can distort their mission, but three
objectives govern the dedicated democratic leader: to lay out open and honest plans to promote the well-being
of society; to teach and to encourage rational aspirations; and to bring parties, factions and dissenting groups
into a cooperative pursuit of the common good.
Of all the possible social-govemmental systems democracy is probably the most prudent even if it is run
through with frustrations. We should have learned over the centuries that we are creatures who find meaning
and fulfillment principally in our social institutions -- families, schools, churches, neighborhoods, friends and
similar groups. This fulfillment requires habits of cooperation, mutual support and empathy. As these are
intermingled they bring social cohesion. Authentic cohesion cannot be forced or induced by propaganda. That
unity required for peaceful existence is a product of agreement through shared values and assumptions. Past
social systems and governments have broken down or ossified or have been crushed for failure to accept
reality. Free and honest communication lays a solid foundation for seeing reality. If we want the present
social-political system to survive we must understand the requirements and conditions of democracy and
implement them however painful.
Understanding the requirements of democratic order and justice should be habitual in advocates of a free
society. There should be no compromise with anti-democratic groups. Unfortunately, some "leaders" flounder
in a morass of money, ambition, and naivet?'. In final analysis life makes demands on us that cannot be
rationalized. Only those who really want democracy and who are willing to accept its intellectual
requirements and practical demands are likely to have and hold it. The immobilizing squabbles of
contemporary American politics signal our immaturity. And this in turn should signal a caution to us all: the
bitterness of politics rarely guarantees wisdom, scarcely ever yields truth and almost always provokes
cynicism.
There is considerable untapped intelligence in America. Regrettably, much of it is arrested by cultural
roadblocks. The three finest modem critics of democracy -- Walter Lippmann, Harold Laski and John Dewey
-- had a clear grasp of these problems. With varying degrees of emphasis they saw that our education is not
sufficiently incisive; that it does not adequately teach the young appreciation of the revolutionary social-
intellectual impact of modem science; nor does it teach the wisdom of skepticism. There is the further
obstacle of religion that does not produce the generous spirit. And journalism promoting the status quo
barricades democracy and free intelligence. Perhaps the most serious roadblock of all is that portion of our
pervasive value system whose standards are set by uncriticized custom and the "market" rather than by
reason. This is reminiscent of the albatross bringing neither wind, nor rain nor happiness, yet it hangs about
our neck smothering the mind of potentially free men and women.
Lloyd Williams is a retired educator. His column runs monthly in The Transcript.

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