It has been said I have disdain for democracy. Dan, a commenter at Too Conservative, put it this way.
Tom, in one of your earlier comments (see here) expressing disdain for democracy you asked Brian, “Have you forgotten that Adolf Hitler was elected?”
I would point out to you that Hitler was NOT elected Chancellor of Germany. The Weimar Republic (the governmental form for which you have such an extreme fetish) placed a great deal of power in the hands of senile old men like Hindenburg out of a distrust of the general population. It was Hindenburg who APPOINTED Hitler chancellor. (from here)
There is some truth in the statement. I do have disdain for democracy. I have very little faith in my fellow man. I believe I am smarter than most people. Because I am in my late 50′s, I like to think I am also somewhat wiser. Sad to say, I am not very impressed with myself. If the best I can do is compare myself favorably to other people, that is not saying much. People, even relatively smart and wise people like myself, can be incredibly ignorant and stupid.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
or
Stop trusting in man,
who has but a breath in his nostrils.
Of what account is he?
Dan, as far as he went into the matter, was correct. Hindenburg won the election for president of Germany by a solid majority. This website, How Hitler Became a Dictator, describes the rest of the story. It describes how Adolf Hitler became the absolute dictator of Germany. The process was entirely democratic and done through the electoral process. While it is true that the Nazis Party never got the majority of the vote, the elected representatives of the German people gave Hitler the power he demanded.
The Founders of our nation anticipated the stupidity of people. So instead of creating a democracy, they created a republic designed to protect individual rights. Rather than elaborate here on the differences between a republic and a democracy, here is a link, What is difference between a republic and a democracy?
In our era, we tend to equate democracy with the form of government the Founders gave us. Although we make much of civil rights, we have forgotten much about what civil rights involve.
Consider the reason for this post. This post, 11th District Committee Deadlocks on Primary vs Convention, at Too Conservative became a discussion of the relative merits of conventions versus primaries. I argued that primaries interfered with a First Amendment right, the right of the people to freely assembly and petition their government. Others argued in favored of primaries.
The comments got a bit venomous occasionally, but they were for the most part interesting. Towards the end, David C.F. Ray, one of the three at-large State Central Committee members from the 11th District who voted against primary, defended his position. He did an excellent job. I suggest reading his comments.
Note that David Skiles, the member of the 11th District Committee who offered the “Motion for a Primary,” also commented (here). He noted that a primary allows military and certain government employees the opportunity to participate in a convention, and he said a convention does not. That issue is, of course, a concern for any Conservative. David Ray effectively addressed this issue in his comments.
Well, Tom, if you have a “disdain for democracy,” you’re in good company: Madison; Franklin; Jefferson; Adams; etc.
Yeah. I have a “disdain for democracy,” too.
James – I wish more people did.
When I read Franklin’s autobiography, one of the things that impressed me was how little of his life involved government service. To help his fellow men, he worked directly in free association with his fellow men.
When the citizens learned that they could collectively steal, er I mean tax Peter to pay Paul, democracy began to slide downhill.