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July 8, 2009
Can There Be Such a Thing as Too Much Democracy?
Susan Wengraf, Berkeley City Councilwoman, has been watching her city’s council meetings for a long time. She has finally gone public about what passes for democracy at such meetings. People, often the same ones who consider sounding off at council meetings a contact sport, keep these meetings going into the small hours. In Wengraf’s opinion, “nothing good happens after 11 pm.” She thinks that exhausted council members do not make good decisions that late at night.
Consider the environment of such meetings, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (May 11, 2009): “Berkeley City Council meetings are often marathons of democracy, replete with shouting, heckling, and threats from the fire marshal. People wear costumes, don matching specially printed T-shirts, shake protest signs and grandstand about everything from Rwanda to the CIA to swimming pool renovations.” Of course those who think that the best government is no government approve of this circus because it obviously slows down any sort of council action.
The best city councils have learned to limit microphone time to three minutes and to put the most pressing issues first on the program.But those cut off are indignant that everyone does not want to hear them. Almost every city council – certainly those in California – has the same problem. This problem is worst in towns with a university or college, where “Demonstrations 101” is part of the curriculum.
The attempt to “democratize” government goes on to national level where demonstrators (usually wearing the pink uniform of “Code Pink”) show up at Senate and House hearings, public addresses of officials they don't like, and even at our political conventions. They always manage to shout and get on TV, before being hauled out by Security. This is obnoxious and does not further reasoned democracy.
Too many people think of democracy as expressing one’s opinion, demonstrating, and voting. At its best, democracy is the process of public participation in decision making – primarily through representative government. It is the process of working together, using parliamentary rules of order, then voting, and finally accepting the votes of the majority. This system works for every club, association, and school elections from elementary school up. We learn to do this early and, for most of us, well. However, since the radical 1970s, there has been a movement to scorn such processes in favor of “direct democracy.” This is what we are seeing now. Could there be anything worse than California’s direct democracy of propositions – presented to a disinterested public asked to do work that their elected and overpaid representatives should address? This is a disaster for sensible governance.
New democracies around the world, particularly those that opted for the British parliamentary system, hold elections that are much like our City Council meetings. There are innumerable political parties contending for votes, candidates who resort to threats and bribes, and appeals to the most ignorant, promising all sorts of benefits. The election process in India is much like this, which is why India has progressed so little in their 60 years of existence – until the private entrepreneurial sector blossomed in spite of, not because of, the government.
Democracy is not a system that maintains itself easily. Unlike feudalism and monarchy, there are no anointed noble leaders that everyone must obey. Feudalism worked for millennia and still has a stranglehold in the most miserable parts of the world today. For democracy to flourish, however, it takes diligence. There must be a literate and hard-working citizenry that participates in responsible governance of clubs, associations, some churches, and local governments. There must be a press that watches out for abuse of power and informs us of what we need to know. It requires willingness to serve when called upon, and is sustained by a citizenry with a shared culture and shared language. Without those things, democracy degenerates (as it does in so many city council meetings) into a cave of winds or worse – into most dreadful “dictatorship of the people.”
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman is an historian, lecturer, and author who also writes for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. You may contact her at Lfarhat102@aol.com or http://www.globalthink.net/.
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