Reflections on an idiotic democracy

Rousseau said that that democracy ran on the principle of virtue. The virtue of its citizens is what makes a democracy great or small. And nothing could be more true. Honesty, intelligence, courage and all the other virtues are really important in a system that is free and truly democratic.

Aristotle said that to study politics one needs experience in life. Politics is not something you just do , it's not something you aim for. Politics should be a calling, a love for the people and to represent them. No one should go to school thinking ' i want to be a senator when i grow up' . No, you don't. You wouldn't do shit being a senator, no matter what you learned at your Ivy League school or Uchicago. You must be a leader first in order to lead. And you can only do that by being a servant. A servant of the people. My biggest passion is justice and for a while now I've had this calling to one day hopefully fight for immigrant rights as a lawyer or in some non-profit. That's my goal. Do I love politics? Yeah, but I can only lead if I have lead and served humbly.

So many of the people in Washington are so grossly incompetent. They are people who are just rich, influential, but not servants. They are idiots, ignorant and greedy. And above all they are representatives of a failed system that for a long time now has failed to have its main ingredient : VIRTUE.

So I ask: Why isn't Ralph Nader president?

Because people don't care. People in this country do not know their own good! I mean, it's ridiculous, but the truth nonetheless. Sure, I was never much of a Nader fan, always a socialist resigned to supporting Democrats, but the truth is I was wrong. The democrats TODAY, with Obama or without are the same as the republicans. Sure, they bicker over little issues that in truth don't matter at all while both take money from the big corporations. Who stops cheap drugs from coming in through Canada? The big pharmaceutical lobbies in congress. Who helps put loopholes and deregulation in the bailout? The Wall Street lobbyists. And every day we learn that both parties are recipients, equaly guilty in this dirty, dirty game of money. I've always said our electoral system is a fraud.

I recently watched a documentary called "the Unreasonable Man" about Ralph Nader's life and I have to say it changed by perspective of politicians. This guy is as close to perfect as it gets. I'm talking about his service to the American people. He's no crazy communist, he's a fighter for you, the consumer. Ironically, he has never even held a public office and yet he gets credit for a HUGE list of laws that has made America safer, cleaner and better for each individual.

One guy in the documentary said it right, if the clean air, food boxes, airbags, seatbelts all said "ralph nader" on them maybe people would give him the respect he deserves. Not to mention the numerous foundations he started for the fight against injustice. I mean, the list is so huge of his accomplishments I'd be undermining them if I tried to list them because each one is so important.

But supporting Ralph in the elections was crazy right? You KNEW he was going to lose. Why? Because of people like us, people who lack the insight to know what's our own good. People who do not really believe in democracy, who are resigned to this ugly two-party system. I ask, what the FUCK did George Bush enact/fight for before becoming president? What did Gore do? NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING. They were not a TENTH of the public servant Ralph Nader was, is and continues to be.

So after watching that documentary I just feel depressed. Depressed that perhaps our country is too stupid and will never truly change. Obama has proven he's not that much change from his predecessor. He's erred on Israel, he's erred on the bailout, he's erred on his appointees, especially Tim Geithner and he will continue to go wrong as long as outside forces control our democracy.

So please, America, learn to put democracy first. Learn to foster the virtue that it needs and throw away the mask. And honor your American heroes, Ralph Nader being one of the greatest among them.