Notice that our elected NPCs , er, members of Leg, parl, assembly are almost never in public now, and if higher up on the food chain, get security details to accompany them.
In Nelson, our MLA only goes in public for gatherings, and is virtually never in her constituency office.
But don't forget, that our elected officials have no obligation to listen or communicate with their constituents: the Supreme Court of Canda has stated that in a judgement on the obligations of elected officials.
I would say that this has become pretty much the situation in too many countries. The idea of 'democracy' and what it is supposed to represent...under the bus too.
I agree that the neoliberalism that all western nations are controlled by stinks.
And I don't believe our countries are democracies anymore either. Here in Canada, we don't even allow people to run for office who might be willing to make the kinds of changes we need. Think Anjali Appadurai and Alex Tyrell, and that was with the provincial NDP (BC) and the federal Green Party respectively.
I also agree that our system is collapsing due to our leaders' crappy choices over the past few decades.
What I'm trying to figure out is how we put something better in place as we fall.
In my view, keeping 'democracy' alive and well is a FULL TIME JOB and not just at election time. People must fight intimidation, must not be afraid to think for themselves and be skeptical of what you hear/read.
I also think that when candidates that actually represent our values are systematically screened out, we don't actually live in a democracy. Or when the only economic system that is an option is neoliberalism that isn't democracy either.
So true!
Notice that our elected NPCs , er, members of Leg, parl, assembly are almost never in public now, and if higher up on the food chain, get security details to accompany them.
In Nelson, our MLA only goes in public for gatherings, and is virtually never in her constituency office.
But don't forget, that our elected officials have no obligation to listen or communicate with their constituents: the Supreme Court of Canda has stated that in a judgement on the obligations of elected officials.
I would say that this has become pretty much the situation in too many countries. The idea of 'democracy' and what it is supposed to represent...under the bus too.
I agree that the neoliberalism that all western nations are controlled by stinks.
And I don't believe our countries are democracies anymore either. Here in Canada, we don't even allow people to run for office who might be willing to make the kinds of changes we need. Think Anjali Appadurai and Alex Tyrell, and that was with the provincial NDP (BC) and the federal Green Party respectively.
I also agree that our system is collapsing due to our leaders' crappy choices over the past few decades.
What I'm trying to figure out is how we put something better in place as we fall.
In my view, keeping 'democracy' alive and well is a FULL TIME JOB and not just at election time. People must fight intimidation, must not be afraid to think for themselves and be skeptical of what you hear/read.
Vera, I agree with you about all of those points.
I also think that when candidates that actually represent our values are systematically screened out, we don't actually live in a democracy. Or when the only economic system that is an option is neoliberalism that isn't democracy either.
I'll take it a step further...'democracy' = the will of the people...vanished long time ago and not just in the US.