Sunday, July 29, 2007

The Youtube debates: a debasement of Democracy?

The Youtube debates on the Internet seem fine in theory but not in practice.  You may think it is wonderful to have the masses drill their leaders on important issues of the day.  But the questions are often ill informed, based on false premises (or premises that not universally agreed upon) and therefore biased, rhetorical (that is they ask "you are evil. Don't you know?), based on an ignorance of America being a federal state and having a separation of powers, and plain silly (as a Snowman of America I want to ask....).  The worse question is that one from the person who says he can no longer vote because he is disillusioned with democracy and can't trust politicians.  Either this person is disillusioned because he does not understand that democracy is about making ugly compromises or this person wants everything done his specific way.  American Democracy was designed to be a representative democracy where the wisers and the betters of the community make decisions.  Somehow it is evolving in a pandering to the mobs and the ignorant and the know-nothings who made those Youtube questions.

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