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TechnoratiJust a Cock-Up Democracy or the Theory of Bush's Nose
In the study of history, the Cock-Up Theory argues that our collective past is the sum of important people's endless errors and many inadequacies. This idea is also called the Theory of Cleopatra's Nose, which argues that Cleopatra's prominent prow so enticed the Roman leader Marc Anthony that he lost track of business back home and let the Roman Empire collapse into chaos.Silly historiography, right?
Well, maybe.
You see, I once believed - before this recent Dark Age, before this unwieldy, unwanted 'Age of Unreason' - that American history was, in fact, crafted and created by 'We the People.' I believed that American history was born in a unique Age of Enlightenment democratic enterprise, a collective history earned in patriots' blood and stolen from thuggish, unruly kings. And though this history of 'We the People' was, admittedly, sometimes violent and sometimes dark, it was always a history that aspired to the 'better angels off our nature.' It was always a history that that pulled Americans through dark times toward noble goals. And it was always a history that provided all people a beacon on a hill.
I continued to believe this when, in November of 2000, our American history was presented with another daunting challenge to 'We the People,' when our democratic will was summarily dismissed by would-be kings. In the darkness that descended after our democratic will was ignored, I responded like so many to the 'angels of our better nature' and to the 'beacon on a hill' and carried my candle in the dark. I carried it against the rising, polarizing anger and protest of my fellow citizens. I wrote publicly, again and again, against the wrongs of democratic denial, and against the press of Pax Americana in the post 9/11 bloodlust, and against the rising enthusiasm for regulated, narrow definitions of human rights that threatened the return kings to America.
And even though that darkness seemed hopeless, sometimes oppressive, 'We the People,' continued to carry those candles. We insistently kept adding, drop-by-drop, to the bucket of rational thinking until, in November of 2006, the bucket seemed, finally, to tip.
Early that November, in a heady return to rational thinking, 'We the People,' by a two a two to one margin, said loudly and clearly that we wanted no more of these nonsensical wars and no more of this ridiculous rhetoric. 'We the People' upended the House and overturned the Senate, voting for those that would end this ugly Age of Unreason, voting for those that would bring light back to America. And when those votes were finally counted - and the agents of darkness skittered away in fear, one by one, back under the rocks from where they came - 'We the People' celebrated the return of American history to the American people. So, relieved, I put down my candle, set aside my pen, and returned to my life.
But then reason didn't come. And our history didn't change. In fact, the ugly war just continued. And the king just kept on smiling. And 'We the People' watched in horror while thousands more American soldiers were sent to fight and die in a war that Americans did not want. And we watched in horror while bombs built in our name rained down, in equal measure, on the innocent and on the damned. And against our collective will and against the desire to control our collective history, 'We the People' watched in horror while the dying and the darkness created by an upstart king inexplicably continued.
We were all stunned. I then found, in my despair, that my candle would not light again and that my pen had gone dry. For months I sat and wondered: what had happened to the light and to 'We the People'? I wanted to know: what had happened to our American history?
That's when it occurred to me. Was it possible that American history no longer belonged to Americans, no longer belonged to 'We the People'? Was it possible that American history had become nothing more than a Cock-Up Democracy, that we Americans were so beguiled by Bush's Nose - beguiled by the nonsensical notions of how to fight this wrong-headed war instead of whether to fight this wrong-headed war, beguiled by the election of politicians who, once in office, flatly ignored our will - that we let the Republic slip through our fingers? Was it possible that we let the noble history of 'We the People' give way to the silly history of endless errors and many inadequacies of our upstart king?
My faith then was so deeply shaken that I didn't have an answer.
And yet, over time, I again found some of that faith - after all, I am an American. But in truth the ultimate answers to these troubling questions depend on 'We the People,' of course. They depend on whether or not 'We the People' continue to be beguiled by the noses of kings.
Sadly, it is not yet time to extinguish our candles or set aside our pens because 'We the People' still have a history to reclaim.
Steven Laffoley ( stevenlaffoley@yahoo.ca) is an American writer living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is the author of Mr. Bush, Angus and Me: Notes of an American-Canadian in the Age of Unreason, and Hunting Halifax: In Search of History, Mystery and Murder.
9 Comments so far
Show AllCoincidence theory or cock up theory as it's referred in British circles is just that theory, and actually just the flip side of conspiracy theory, and at time coincidence theory can be just as nutty as conspiracy theory is. For example try as hard as possible to picture Watergate, the way the USA got into the Vietnam War, the Iran Contra affair, the way the USA got fooled into going to war with Iraq as coincidence, and comes out to be crazy. We will soon or later have to see all theories including coincidence, conspiracy, and others as just that until evidence shows them to be fact.
Maybe we need to start putting the floodlight of inquiry and skepiticism on coincidence
theory as we have with conspiracy theory for so long and start just taking a fresh look at conspiracy theory and stop closing it out as a vehicle for inquiry.
"capitalism always leads to fascism, democracy to socialism"
grandma- how very true
The trick is, don't confuse democracy with capitalism. You can't have both together, they contradict each other. Unchecked, capitalism always leads to fascism, democracy to socialism.
Is that the "We The People" that slaughtered the Native Americans we're looking to reclaim? The slavery WTP? The robber baron WTP? The bomb every country in sight WTP? The rig the market in favor of the already have-to-much WTP? The union-busting WTP? The nuke Japan WTP? The WTP that supports FOX and Wal-Mart and Exxon?
"We The People" may be the greatest myth of all, in a country of "rugged individualists" where the goal is top hoarder of wealth and resources and the credo is "I got mine, screw you."
The sad thing is that in a democracy, We the People can be ignorant, lazy, and wrong-headed and easily fooled. We can fall for the tricks of the powerful and those in the Media.
Keep hope alive!
If We the People own America, why don't we have equal shares of stocks in and dividends from leasing our public assets worth trillions? Why can't We the People keep the oligarchy's financial institutions and corporations from looting and stealing our public treasure? Why do we allow politicians to decide how, to whom and for what bribes they will give away our assets? Why can't we fire our administration for poor performance, like any corporation does and employ a corporate administration that looks after the people's interest, instead of the Halliburton's. Why don't We the People organize by incorporating into a private for profit corporation with equal non-transferable shares of stock and equal voting rights to every citizen?
Until the US populace (READ - 'WE THE PEOPLE") gets the courage to take to the streets and follow the example of Gandhi's non-violent marches and demonstrations nothing will change. The people have got to WANT the Constitution restored enough to ACT accordingly. If there is no such desire, there will will be no more US Constitution (except in name only).
Things will change only when the populace is alienated and hopeless.
Then they may :
STAND UP - for what they beleive to be right.
SIT DOWN - in the nearest street to bring transportaion, retail, everything to a standstill.
FIGHT - I hope like Gandhi's Pathan friend Badshar Khan(Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan) (check him out)a Pashtun nonviolent Muslim
FIGHT - Even if it means sacrifice to themselves to totally repudiate the oligarchy
FIGHT - As if their lives depend on active resistance - which they do
When people realize that they cannot ignore the actions of the government and relaize they themselves are the governmet, only then is change possible.
What a shame to let cowardice bring down such a noble experiment of human governance!!
Here are some comments by a man who stood by Gandhi - Badshah Khan, who led a 100,000 person army of non-violent Pashtuns from the Khyber pass region. He was a Pashtun (Afghan) political and spiritual leader known for his non-violent opposition to British Rule during the final years of the Empire on the Indian sub-continent. He was a lifelong pacifist and a devout Muslim. He was known as Badshah Khan (sometimes written as Bacha Khan), the `King of Chiefs', and `Frontier Gandhi'.
"To me nonviolence has come to represent a panacea for all the evils that surround my people. Therefore I am devoting all my energies toward the establishment of a society that would be based on its principles of truth and peace." –
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
"Today's world is traveling in some strange direction. You see that the world is going toward destruction and violence. And the specialty of violence is to create hatred among people and to create fear. I am a believer in nonviolence and I say that no peace or tranquility will descend upon the people of the world until nonviolence is practiced, because nonviolence is love and it stirs courage in people." – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan to an interviewer in 1985
His story is contained in 'Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan, A Man To Match His Mountains', by Eknath Easwaran (Published by Nilgiri Press).
Also see NPR highlights:
http://www.npr.org/programs/musings/2003/jan/khan.html?sc=emaf
We are brains with programs that are triggered by the ads of the corporate psychologist whores, and it isn't going to stop, "because that is the nature of corporations."
Reinhold Neibuhr, 1932, "Moral Man in an Immoral Society."
Anything would be better than the take-money-from-the-poor-and-give-it-to-the-rich version of democracy we have now. By contrast, Socialism looks downright benevolent.
Given a choice, I'd choose universal guaranteed health care, daycare and retirement every time. After all, all I'd personally be giving up to gain those things is the incredibly remote opportunity to become a gazillionaire by exploiting some other facet of society. Instead I'd have to aim lower and shoot for becoming a mere millionaire instead, by providing a public service at a reasonable price. How awful! Can't you just hear society collapsing and crashing down?
The fact is that fascist governments, which ours has become, always end in complete destruction or financial chaos, because they cater to the predatory nature of unbridled power and greed. Conversely, the Socialist governments of the globe are the most stable, and provide the highest overall standard of living for their populations.
Like I said, it's a no-brainer. Too bad so many people in this country bought into the corporate lies about how constantly buying more stuff would make their lives better.