I WANT OUR DEMOCRACY BACK, JOHN

I was listening to Radio Live this morning, and contrary to my expectations, I heard an interesting article. Wallace Chapman was interviewing Michelle Boag on Obama’s efforts to put through some kind of gun reform. It prompted me to pour you another Cup of Vitriol.

Boag asserted that Obama could have a great legacy, should he choose to grasp this opportunity. At the very least, it should be for his ban on assault weapons. These are the kind of guns responsible for killing many kids in the long list of US school shootings. Boag expressed that Obama needs to make a distinction between the assault weapons that kill many people, and the guns used for hunting and personal defence. Of course, the gun businesses who fall back on the 2nd amendment are threatened by these current machinations. I would remind everyone that the 2nd amendment is over 40 years old, drafted in a time when such assault weapons were not as powerful or as freely available to the public as they are now. Americans are so wedded to their guns, culturally and commercially, that Obama has his work cut out.

Obama’s legacy could be to completely reform this issue, reform the Second Amendment, and certainly renew the ban on assault weapon sales. The recent poll seems to support Obama’s reform programme.

But it won’t happen.

It won’t happen, because this current Congress won’t let it happen. So, The People want gun reform, but their elected representatives are resisting gun reform. The powerful business-financed gun lobby has bought (figuratively or literally) too many politicians in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.

“government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” [Abraham Lincoln]

Strange though it may seem, I’m not going to dwell on the US gun debate today. In fact, I want to talk about how we, in our sublime, utopian western “civilisations” have lost our democracy. Suffice to say, I use the gun debate as a perfect example of how America is not a democracy. America is a business-manipulated government of The People, loosely disguised as a democracy. And New Zealand, especially with the right-wing National Party in power, is little better:

• This government announced a programme for business-orientated Charter Schools, despite their public unpopularity. Even though Charter Schools appeared NOWHERE in the National Party manifesto, the National government adopted the programme to secure the support of ONE MAN. Scarily, this cartoon (pictured left) has it spot on. 
• 75% of voters in New Zealand were polled as NOT wanting our public assets sold. The poll was dismissed by the government as “too simple.” The government says it has a voter mandate to flog our public assets, by the very virtue of being in power. In other words, it doesn’t have to be answerable to the people whilst in power. 
• The Earthquake Commission (EQC) bureaucracy hamstrings Christchurch’s residential repairs and rebuilds. Meanwhile, the business-dominated plan for the city centre goes on full-speed ahead.

To be fair to the National Party, we (New Zealand - not me personally!) voted for a National government in 2008 as we plunged into a recession. So, we greedily voted for tax cuts we KNEW we couldn’t afford.  We voted for a National government in 2011 when we KNEW asset sales would be sold.  And so, we also voted for asset sales by the same logic.  It would appear that, once this National Government gets into power, it has a mandate to do whatever it likes. In truth, you know that’s right, because we’ve all been through this with previous governments. However, that doesn't make the behaviour acceptable.  The problem is that a government, once it’s in power for its three-year-term, seems no longer answerable to the people. Our only recourse (or hope!) is at the ballot box after those three years, or that coalition partners somehow temper the incumbent. Yeah, how’s that working for you, New Zealand? What do you think are the chances of those in power adopting a Recoverable Proxy system for us proles? Well, there are in fact two chances; fat and slim.

Frankly, New Zealand’s stupidity and selfishness has enabled such business-financed parties to manipulate The People. That manipulation can be in the form of clever spin, or blatantly buying off the voters with “crumbs from the rich man’s table.” [Luke 16:19-31]. You could go so far as to call that abuse. It’s certainly abuse of power - and abuse of the intelligence of the discerning voters, at least!

When I was discussing this with my red-neck father-in-law, he commented that “at last we have the vote.” Well, that’s not good enough. Our blind acceptance of that fact, and our blind acceptance that we don’t need anything else, is exactly what lets government do what they want to do for three years. It blindly hands government to the unfettered machinations of the corporations. I hear my critics now; “But large businesses create goods, services, employment and tax revenue.”  Yes, and I’m sure some New Zealand large businesses would love us to go back to the laissez faire, unfettered days of the Industrial Revolution, free from government "interference." Big business with a foot in power worries me. However, big business without reins scares the runny crap out of me.

So, John, I’m not going to thank you for our right to vote. We fought for it, and you’re spitting on it. The Chartists would be turning in their graves right now.  John, I want our democracy back – before the next election, please?

FURTHER READING:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/19/obama-pressure-congress-gun-control
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/strengthen-gun-control-laws-obama-tells-congress/article4323147.ece
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/manukau-courier/6113614/Anger-at-charter-plan

http://www.ppta.org.nz/index.php/resources/ppta-blog/question-what-does-john-banks-know-about-charter-schools-answer-nothing.html http://www.aardvark.co.nz/rproxy.shtml