Sunday, December 25, 2005

Gustave Flaubert

"The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of stupidity attained by the bourgeois."

9 comments:

Bree O'Connor said...

Ha! Mission accomplished.

Anonymous said...

As Fat Mike says, "There's no point for democracy when ignorance is celebrated."

x

List with Laszlo said...

I beleieve the whole dream of democracy was to seize power from an elite group and return the power of self determination to the individuals of that society. Apparently modern society decided they'd rather give it back to King George and return to being sheep.

N8ey said...

KoP, I think you're getting a little bitter there...

Because the Americans have been giving it back since Nixon, perhaps before. (To blaspheme - WWII anyone? Right reasons, perhaps it's carried way too far?)

I think democracy is the plague of the western hemisphere, seemingly of the world if the self-righteous continue on their way.

I remember a quote, but not the quote itself or the author, about Democracy being the worst choice except for all the other choices...

-- N8ey

List with Laszlo said...

I believe in the principles of Democracy. I do not however believe that just because a nation has a democratic government that makes their policies foreign or domestic "good." There have been nations that had good monarchs who ruled their nations fairly and there have been democracies that were very unfair. The up-side of democracy is that the people can vote out their current administration if they don't like the course, and of course there's the second amendment if the administration doesn't get it.

X said...

The down-side is that the majority of the people want what the administration is giving them. Big Brother gives them a false sense of security. Bread and Circuses care for and entertain them. And bes tof all, they don't have to worry about paying for it. The Chinese and Saudis are willing to spot the money until our kids can pay them back. Here's another qoute, this time from H.L. Mencken, "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard."

List with Laszlo said...

Agreed. That's because somewhere along the way Americans quit thinking of themselves as citizens and began thinking of themselves as consumers. A citizen, ideally, should be concerned with the liberties and well being of his fellow citizens first. A consumer only has to spend money. Capitalism does not necessarily = democracy. Free speech, the right to own property, being free from unreasonable searches and seizures,etc are hallmarks of democracy not capitalism. These rights are more important then the price of gas.

Unknown said...

Wow. A simple quotation leads to the discovery that not only did the founding fathers disagree on what the establishment of this nation meant, but 200 years later, my circle of friends all have differing opinions as well.

Democracy effectuates Chaos.

X said...

FUCK YOU!