The Dictionary is Wrong

Looking over the headlines from today, one major thought kept coming into my mind: When did governments quit serving their people and start controlling them?

The Iranian government is still holding protesters arrested after the election dispute. Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president accused of atrocious war crimes denied everything at the International Criminal Court. I talked to a South Carolinian today who said their governor missed some very important meetings recently because he is taking time to reconcile with his wife for his unfaithfulness (while unemployment is soaring in SC). Coal companies benefit more from the climate bill that the House passed than the environment does.

So my question is again when did governments stop serving people? Even better, how did we let this happen?

After thinking about this, I realized maybe I was wrong. Maybe I misunderstood what government means. So I looked up the definition. And it focuses mostly on control, not service: "the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states". I disagree.

Government is about service. It is about taking care of the people one is elected to represent. It is about representing them fairly.

Maybe I am too idealistic, maybe I am just a dreamer, but as John Lennon says: "I'm not the only one." Join us. Let's create a better world.

-Stephen Donahoe

Comments

[mike king]

Well Stephen....you're not the only one.... that is too "idealistic" .......many more of the world are so inclined....I have found, in my wanderings through life, that I am returning to my idealism....it helps to have a good leadership....hope that things can be as they should, not as they "have to be" or that we have accept reasoning based on "facing reality".....

It seems to me that we must establish the "ideal" as a real life expectaion and accept compromise off of the ideal, rather than "live with reality" and try to move our thinking up from a already compromised position/thinking.....a life time of living in reality is a depressing thought....our ideals, our hopes are what kindle the flame within us....what nourishes the fellowship of our world....binds our common spirits....

Our inner knowledge of the way things "should be" must be our voiced expression of how we expect things to be, our inner knowledge, must become our standard of measurement for our "ideal reality"....so that the other "ones" around us will see and respond...

Thank you for sharing yours....Mike

[bewarethechicken]

Stephen, it looks like you are referring to a representative style government, which, in my opinion shouldn't "take care of" their constituents, but should represent them. A Government isn't a care-giver but an administrative system.

Obviously, government shouldn't be corrupt, but if an official's constituents want the goverment to punish political activists, that's what the official should do.

I guess I'm saying, while it seems cold, I think the dictionary is right. If there is a fault with government, then it is due to the inaction or inatentiveness of its people. In a representative government system, if the elected officials aren't doing what they are supposed to, we're supposed to kick 'em out and put in people who do.

Unfortunately, in the US, the general population is (a) uneducated (b) poor and (c) disengaged. This is a bad combination for a good representative government. But its not "government's" fault - it's the people's fault.

In a democratic society, we truly get the government we deserve.

[Stephen Donahoe]

Mike, thank you so much for sharing your insight and wisdom! Let's continue to strive to make the ideal real.

[Stephen Donahoe]

Bewarethechicken,

To some extent, I agree with you. I agree that in a truly democratic society, the people get the government they deserve. However, I disagree that the US has a truly democratic society. In a democratic society, everyone is supposed to have equal access to voting and running for public office. When the average networth of a member of Congress is at least $2.9 million, it is obvious that national office is reserved for a certain group of people. And it is also easy to see how that group of people would find it easy to ignore the needs of the people. (Stat from http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/57139-kerry-issa-harman-most-wealthy-new-kids-of-09-are-rich-kids-too)

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