Cultural & Social Holistic Rob's Blog and Commentary

The Endless Vitality for Democracy

A peaceful and well balance humanity has been a divine dream since the dawn of humankind. That dream has sought its way into communal living practiced by the Egyptian Pharaoh, Akhenaten, the Jewish sect of the Essenes, the Jesuit Priesthood, practical communism, religious organizations, an array of New Age thinkers, and most notably, the American Constitution. The vitality of that dream encourages hope yet consistently finds itself buried in opposition. 

In the early stages of humankind, the seeds for democracy were strewn. Archeological finds reveal that the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia sought to indoctrinate various tribes with higher coexistence standards. As it were, the earthy gods had all the power, and that was becoming disruptive and humiliating for the people. The populations then needed some form of hope.

During Socrates’s reign, democracy became mindful as to encourage civility among the flourishing Grecian nation. But as the commonalty gained a stronger voice, the elitist squashed the democratic momentum. Similarly, as witnessed in the twenty-first century and within current political ambitions, elitists easily topple democratic environments to foster political power for the ambitious few. 

Powerful Emperors and Generals fought significant wars for centuries. They conquered many nations and populations, destroying their cultures and enslaving humble populations. And this continues today in North Korea, Regions of Africa, and to some extent, in the United States. How can this be? What empowers ambitious dictators and autocrats to advocate such selfishness and turmoil?

It’s the quest to become god-like. What greater righteousness can a person achieve as to claim the same status as being equivalent to God? Imagine the thrill of looking straight into God’s Eyes and declaring the same attributes, status, and rule. That quest requires accumulating every aspect of power one could seize. Becoming powerful sustains an addictive behavior that demands loyalty or harsh adversarial consequences. 

I never saw Genghis Khan, Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler, or Kim Jong-un, but I knew about Trump. He fits perfectly into the cadre of narcissistic leaders. Before, during, and soon, after his presidency, Trump has pioneered the common people into walking ignorance, false hope and virtually touched upon destroying democracy. Like the other autocrats before his time, his mid-set was not for the people but himself. And that condition leads us to my next argument: sovereignty versus commonalty, specifically the ruling body and its cultural population. 

Depending on what you believe, the father governs, the son follows. The corollary, the government leads the commonalty follows. What keeps this in balance is the right to petition and enforce the Laws of Balance from either standpoint. The sovereign (rulers) must honor and respect the commonalty (people), and the commonalty must honor and respect the sovereign, all the time, every time. And that infringes on the respect for justice. For the commonalty, the voice of justice is in the vote. For the sovereign, the voice for justice is respect. This fundamental democratic arrangement requires vitality at humanity’s core: a continual atmosphere of brotherhood and sisterhood for the sake of all.

One of the most drastic bombardments against democracy found its way into the 2020 elections for the American Presidency. The test for the survival of democracy was at stake. A fight between ignorance and facts, illusions and truths, greed and morality were embattled. If it wasn’t for the stretched essentials of democracy and its institutions and the recent outpouring of voters displayed in the elections, world democracy might have felt its last hand. Fortunately, in just a few weeks since these elections, world leaders have bilaterally been orchestrating a resurgence of democracy, an accurate display of humanity’s vitality. 

Will the Divine Dream for democracy ever materialize? That depends on the vitality expressed by the commonalty and respected by the sovereign. Maybe someday soon, we can see “We The People, For The People, By The People” become the standard for our worldly societies. 

Dr. Robert V. Gerard
Copyright© 2020 Robert V Gerard

DrGerard.77@gmail.com

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