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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: truedog who wrote (13922)	8/5/1999 4:56:00 AM
From: MNI	Respond to of 17770

Derek and truedog... even if it is true (I cannot judge for the US, but sometimes I am appalled by the loss of political interest during my lifetime, here), I think is up to YOU (as well as to me) to see the danger of the assumption. The decay of political interest and unclarity of political responsibilities with a majority of the population can lead to a phase of decadence of the democratic state. If this perspective is reversed so that politicians don't care anymore for the interest of the majority of voters ("they won't understand anyway"), this is political cynicism that can easily lead to the material destruction of democracy. Can the reduction of federal powers by - among other processes - the accumulation of federal debt be envisioned as a similar process? This question remains open for me. But I think the failure of the Weimar Republic was similar, the democratic process itself was by many not seen as a value, only its' results - about which different opinions had to be allowed. The material power of the state was very limited, as well as the political power of the government: in internal policies - by a multi-split party system favoring extremist views, and by mainstream organizations that took part in street violence; in foreign policies - by the results of WWI. As a result not only the state had near zero credibility for the citizens; many politicians, even on the local level, did not trust in the democratic capability of the voters - and said so excessively. Rhetoric phrases expressing either patronizing, pity or even despise for 'the masses' seem to have been ubiquitous. Autonomy of the citizen was in that way discussed away. Incapacitation of the voter seemed a logical consequence. As a result I assume that it is the duty of the politicians to make the political process understandable to the citizen, as well as the controversy of the issues discussed. On the other side I assume that a trusting attitude to the judgment of the democratic majority is also needed, at least in the published opinion. So don't be too negative! If both of you think you can do better than your neighbours, then go on, politicize them. Or express political interest, to make them curious. I think it is what has percolated from the democratic reeducation of Germany after WWII. Thanks to the Western Allies. Regards MNI.