I know I should stop writing random long-winded polemics and actually write something witty around here, but, damn it, I can’t help myself today… especially when someone baits me like this:

With this post I inaugurate a new category that I’ve avoided until this point: Politics. I spent an inordinate amount of time today reading politically themed articles and blog posts. Most of that can be blamed on reading David Colborne’s blog and then following the ever expanding tree of links from there. I find myself doing something similar to this every few weeks, and I always come to the same conclusion at the end; I really know nothing about politics.

Okay, okay - I’m not going to use this as another excuse to engage in a bit of ex-post-modernist-facto infinite mirroring. I swear!

All of this brings into my mind the ideas of Socrates. He may very well have been on to something with his belief that the general member of society was not equipped with the knowledge to properly choose a ruler or rulers. I mean, we see the people that win American Idol; they are usually the most talented but also tend to conform to what society wants in the categories of looks, clothing, and attitude. Are these categories at all relevant to their singing? In some respects, they are a part of the performance. They are not, however, directly related to the person’s ability. Can we really believe this is a vastly different group of people than the ones going to the polls to elect our Commander-In-Chief?

Of course not, and that’s why it works. Hear me out…

The great and wonderful thing about an absolute dictatorship is that, if you have an absolutely brilliant dictator, your nation will achieve heights like none other. This has been proven throughout history by the likes of Charlemagne, Genghis Khan, and Alexander the Great. There’s just one problem - for every brilliant ruler you might get, you’re also going to get four or five absolutely terrible leaders who, as absolute dictator, have the complete and unerring capacity to spread that terribleness all over your country, like some sort of moldy cheese paste.

This is where a limited government buoyed by popular vote comes in.

The popular vote makes sure that, at any given time, the government represents a majority of the people that are being governed by it. If, at any time, the government stops representing the majority of the people that are being governed by it, they’ll elect a new one at some point. Because the government is limited, it doesn’t matter who the majority of people throw in there - they’re not going to have the power or the control required to really screw things up… and, even if the people elect someone with the mind of a peanut, they can reverse course in a fairly short amount of time.

In a way, this is very similar to how American Idol works - none of the artists maintain popularity long enough to have any serious impact on our culture. Consequently, instead of guiding and shaping our musical tastes like some sort of vicious conformist oligarchy leading us down the path of ruin, we are instead treated to a series of mediocre, ultimately forgettable musicians with varying levels of talent and charisma.

Now, is it true that we miss the highs that we might enjoy were we to just throw caution to the wind? Of course, but, with any luck, we’ll also avoid some of the lows.

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