The use of democracy by banana republicanism
The democracy is the weakest form of government. So has the tenant of the consensus
of social scientists in the days when I was experiencing my only affordable education, my high school days. Thankfully,
because of my then unknown learning disabilities, I was treated to an extra year, bad spelling and all. You may not have noticed that, if you've been reading any of my articles, because of the computer's ability to correct spelling.
I spend a good five to ten minutes after writing to use the spelling correction
devise in the software. Front Page even helps me spell the work I have
named correctly. Like the digital art work I did of an electronic circuit
board on a San Diego trashcan called "Tentonarrah", or "you can't
hold on to anything these days."
So when I got to the level in high school when I could start studying sociology things really began to get interesting. So now that you know of my great qualifications, you'll probably surf on and I'll notice in my dwindling stats that this was your exit page. But before you go, consider this: It's not what you know so much as what you do with what you know that counts. For example, there is a cure for the common cold, go to my search page and enter "vodka" and see.
Nevermind, the search page probably doesn't work anyway. Yeah. It's
vodka. Spray it in your nose especially after going to public buildings during
cold season. Also use it to spray down your food prep areas, too.
It's an edible disinfectant.
My sociology teacher was also my cross country assistant coach. I can remember to this day him saying that the United States couldn't see beyond it's nose. That shocked me in those days, because we had just come out of the fifties, you remember perhaps if you're old enough. It was a time when the family was the backbone of America.
It was also the time of the educated middle class, when the veterans of World War Two were given enough money by the G.I. Bill of Rights to complete a college education. But if you step back and look at history, and the present situation begins to become far less significant by
comparison, you'll see patterns that echoed what's going on.
The next strongest form of government is dictatorship, and in-between floating in the misty flats is the republic. It's
as the "pledge of
allegiance" says, first there is the pledge the individual makes to be in allegiance
with the democracy and then also to something else, the republic. We now have the catch word
"Banana Republic" which are token democracies with a dictatorial bent, usually a plantation type of economy, like
bananas in South America, Sugar in Fiji, tea in Indonesia and so on.
But the phenomenon in the U.S. was the automobile before others caught on. They always do, and for a while we became the car republic. But there are
inherent strengths to the geography of the United States that helps it override the influx of permanent presidentees. Like one huge navigable river,
excellent natural harbors and sea ports to two major oceans, an immense expanse of
arable land, a homogenous society and so on. Not even the United States of Europe has that.
But with the scenario I was trying to discuss in this article, the leader
uses banana republicanism to get elected and then merely stays in office, thus becoming
a king without having the blue blood. Thus democracy with it's weaknesses,
is used by El Presidentee to become a king. It's a lot easier than the old
days when you had to be a Khan or a Caesar to become a king.
Copyright (c) 2005 by Paul A. L. Hall. All rights reserved.
Click here to see a follow up article, "U.S.A., King of Banana Republics".
back
|