Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Political Parties

"Grandpa, a lot of adults I have listened to quietly say that there is little difference between the two major political parties, so why are you so adamantly against the Democratic Party?"

Grandpa looked down at me and did not say a word for a bit before answering. Then he spoke these words.

"Boy, I am not against any political party per se. What I am against is the placing of class above the individual in politics. What I am against is the idea of a political candidate that says that he will follow the will of the people instead of following his own conscience if elected. What I am against is the forcing of an ideology upon the people under the guise that their ways are in the people’s best interest. What I am against is the unwillingness of person to stand by his decisions based on the reasons he made that decision. What I am against is the use of manipulation of facts to persuade others when reason will not convince.

Politics is about the use of power and power is about the use of force. Governments, regardless of form, are created to give legitimacy to the use of force. Individuals in any society has the least amount of power thus they are the least capable to use force but also the least capable of resisting the use of force. Thus, to treat people equally, laws should be enacted which are meant to apply to all individuals yet can only be enforced against the individuals that do not abide by those laws in that society."

With these words said grandpa stopped talking, allowing me to ponder on his words of wisdom.

8 comments:

dcat said...

I have a long list of why's on being against the democratic party!

I only have an hour for lunch!

The Griper said...

i wrote it those terms for the reason of distinction of the individual vs the group. political parties have a history of changing philosphy over time.

but more important it was written as a rebuttal to the idea that politicians, once elected, are to follow the will of their constituents rather than their own conscience.

repsac3 said...

I've been considering that question myself, lately. I see merit to both arguments (those we elect are there to represent us, vs we elect a folks of values, and trust their judgement.) I've not come to any conclusions.

May I ask what factors guided you to your conclusion, and whether you've read any particularly persuasive arguments (aside yours, of course) one way or the other?

The Griper said...

yes there are merits to both arguements repsec3. i don't deny it. there were many factors that led me to my conclusion. and to properly list them all would take a series of posts along with the explanation of them.

one of them being that once elected a representative takes an oath to uphold the Constitution not the will of his constituents. that means if the will of the people would be unconstitutional in regards to any issure he must consider, in his mind, then he has taken an oath to go against the will of the people. thus he would be following his conscience rather than the will of his constituents.

repsac3 said...

Thanks for the reply.

"...and to properly list them all would take a series of posts along with the explanation of them."

Sounds like I was kind enough to give you a topic for one of those days when you think your readers deserve a new post, but don't know what knowledge to impart from among Grandpa's many wise words 8>)

I'll keep readin', on the off chance that ever takes place... (Even if it don't, it's still a fine place to spend a little time...)

The Griper said...

repsac3,
just thought using a format such as this would create a different, and maybe a interesting way of presenting my ideas. and grandpa is thinking hard on your idea. will take awhiile to outline and put it all together though.

Anonymous said...

I think the one thing worth pondering is why Grandpa dodged the question.

The Griper said...

Arthur,

glad to see you visit my site.

as for dodging the question grandpa never dodged it. he addressed it directly by saying he wasn't against any political party per se. how do you present an arguement against something as asked when you are not against it?

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