Observations
  • Home
  • Observations
  • Trendcasting
  • Odds 'n Ends
  • Science/Technology/Experiments
  • Mental Health

"We Get the Government that We Deserve"...

11/7/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
The title quote is from Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political writer who was probably also a very early social psychologist without realizing his contribution to the image of America in the early 1800's. He traveled across the United States in 1830 and published his two volume work called  " Democracy in America" in 1835 and 1840. It may be significant that at that time there were only 24 states with  a population of 12 million people. He was here from France to see how democracy worked and to understand how it was different from the aristocratic and bourgeois systems of Europe. (It is also noteworthy that he was an aristocrat and saw the world as only the very rich can see it).
I thought it relevant in that now that our election is over, we can take stock of where we are and where we are going.
It is apparent that some citizens are happy with the outcome of the election, and that some are concerned that we are going to hell in the proverbial hand-basket. And, that is the history of America over the last two hundred years. We have seen grid-lock, partisan fights, corruption and greed, power and scandal from the very beginning of our democracy. But, if the alternatives are considered, Dictatorship, Communism, Socialism, Theocracy, and different forms of government, Democracy looks pretty good. Sometimes it is broken, sometimes it runs very well, but democracy has the ability to change and adapt to the needs of the people. I believe that the founding fathers, and , in many cases their wives, saw the country and its people as a moving target, and had the good sense to incorporate the possibility of choice and flexibility. Thumbs up to these leaders, who were also aristocrats.
I am including a link to BrainyQuote so that you can read some of the quotes from de Tocqueville. He had an extremely sharp eye, and a clear view of America here.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture


    An observer of life and our changing times-Ken

    .

    Categories

    All
    Advertising
    Aspirin
    Car Crashes
    Change
    China
    Corn Ethanol
    Custome Service
    Dancing Bears
    Drunk Drivers
    Dunkin's
    E-Cards
    Evolution
    Experts?
    Failure
    Free
    Good Egg
    Hackers And Crackers
    Internet Radio
    Internet Size
    Layaway
    Listeria
    Manufacturing
    Misleading Medical Reports
    Monopoly 2.0
    Multitasking
    Nature
    Needs
    Noise
    Nurture
    Observation And Inference
    Online Credit Card Fraud
    Online Learning
    Political Circus
    Political Double Speak
    Reality Television
    Search Engines
    Talent
    Term Limits
    Violence
    Wants
    Youtube

    Archives

    June 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    April 2019
    October 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    Categories

    All
    Advertising
    Aspirin
    Car Crashes
    Change
    China
    Corn Ethanol
    Custome Service
    Dancing Bears
    Drunk Drivers
    Dunkin's
    E-Cards
    Evolution
    Experts?
    Failure
    Free
    Good Egg
    Hackers And Crackers
    Internet Radio
    Internet Size
    Layaway
    Listeria
    Manufacturing
    Misleading Medical Reports
    Monopoly 2.0
    Multitasking
    Nature
    Needs
    Noise
    Nurture
    Observation And Inference
    Online Credit Card Fraud
    Online Learning
    Political Circus
    Political Double Speak
    Reality Television
    Search Engines
    Talent
    Term Limits
    Violence
    Wants
    Youtube

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.