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Blog Entry 5 of 5 Life and Society Improvement

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" ... Capable of Freedom." ... Ben Franklin

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Contributed by: Gerry Benner on 1/1/2008

In listening to some of the political talks recently, I got thinking of the war and started wondering if our country's efforts are capable of establishing new governments in an oligarchy or a despotic-ruled society that doesn't have the infrastructure or basic cultural fibers required to support democracy. Some of the politicians quoted our founding fathers, stating that our form of government requires common values and religion. The assumption appears to be that we need a society that mutually creates and supports the laws, which are also based on the moral compass that the majority of citizens acknowledge and practice.

This form of government is supported because the citizens see a benefit and can buy-in to the reasons for the law. The more people, however, that disengage from the political process, the more that government will move toward an oligarchy. When government is "controlled" by a few influential groups or a bunch of special interest groups and everyone else sits back and lets government officials only hear one side, we will have the tendency for government to move from being democratic to being oligarchic.

Cities have the biggest chance of this happening if the elected representatives let the special interest groups persuade them that their proposals are in the interest of all citizens. There are some individuals who can be very persuasive as to why something should be supported or not supported. Laws may be imposed without the proper amount of research, debate, or focus-group analysis. In discussions with others along the Front Range, it is apparent that many local governments have moved to a government of solving problems with new laws. There are many new laws against many things that were legal 20 years ago.

It appears that the squeaky wheel does get the grease, or in other words, the few that squawk do get quick laws written to appease them -- if government officials don't do their homework and work for better solutions (or at least more realistically written laws). The point is that our form of government works best when the interests of the whole are foremost in our minds when writing laws that we expect our society to adhere to. Without society's support, law adherence would be a joke and open or passive rebellion would be the norm.

When I read a Benjamin Franklin statement like: "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom." I wonder if we lost our virtue (as a whole), and must now have more laws to govern every aspect of our life." Do we expect laws to take care of every aspect of our lives?? Shouldn't we take responsibility, and not have government protect us from everything?? I also wonder if a land (like Iraq) that is despotically controlled can ever have a democratic government.

When George Washington wrote: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports." I'm sure he assumed that religion and morality supported each other. I also assume that he believed that government would continually be for the people, and not just for one faction, not just for one special interest group, and not just for one myopic or self-focused group.

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Gerry Benner

Thornton , CO

Gerry Benner has posted 5 blog entries and 5 comments since joining on 3/5/2007. Gerry Benner 's average blog rating is 4.33.

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