The Speed Of Our Democracy
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The people who laid the foundations of this country were afraid that a political group might quickly gain control of the government and enact laws that would fly in the face of what a democracy stands for. For this reason, the framers of our government designed a system which intentionally moves very slowly. Often, the citizens become frustrated with the pace of change, and think that the system is antiquated because it does not move as quickly as the pace of life in a modern-day technological age such as ours. Because the pace of life is so much faster than the government-as-designed, people argue that we must do something to quicken it up, to meet the needs of today. I believe this to be a potentially dangerous idea.
The main problem with this is, just as was feared 200+ years ago, that a group could sweep too quickly into power, before it has had time to mature in the public consciousness. Very often, in this country there are movements that spark to life, become very popular and then just as quickly fizzle out. These movements did not survive the long-term trials that a democracy requires for people to come to fully understand a movement or a candidate or a body of ideas. In the end, the spark-of-the-moment kind of movement plays its proper role of adding to the wider debate, adding to the national conversation. It does not and it should not shout so loudly that its voice is the only to be heard.
However, in this day and age of consumerism, fads and market trends, we must guard against the commodification of the political process that the fast pace of technological change seems to demand. The computer moves at light speed, information is shared around the world in the blink of an eye, but the human mind does not operate upon the same principles. We need time to think, to discuss, to hash things out -essentially, to make up our minds. If we allow ourselves to be too dazzled by the whiz-bang age we live in, we are in danger of losing our perspective, and even our minds.
In my view, we need to keep the government moving as slowly as it has. It has served us well enough thus far, and should continue to be allowed to do as it was designed to do. We may develop newer and faster technologies, but these must be put to the service of our society, not the other way around. Democracy must represent the majority of us, and a slower system allows everyone the opportunity to have their voices heard - eventually.
The people who laid the foundations of this country were afraid that a political group might quickly gain control of the government and enact laws that would fly in the face of what a democracy stands for. For this reason, the framers of our government designed a system which intentionally moves very slowly. Often, the citizens become frustrated with the pace of change, and think that the system is antiquated because it does not move as quickly as the pace of life in a modern-day technological age such as ours. Because the pace of life is so much faster than the government-as-designed, people argue that we must do something to quicken it up, to meet the needs of today. I believe this to be a potentially dangerous idea.
The main problem with this is, just as was feared 200+ years ago, that a group could sweep too quickly into power, before it has had time to mature in the public consciousness. Very often, in this country there are movements that spark to life, become very popular and then just as quickly fizzle out. These movements did not survive the long-term trials that a democracy requires for people to come to fully understand a movement or a candidate or a body of ideas. In the end, the spark-of-the-moment kind of movement plays its proper role of adding to the wider debate, adding to the national conversation. It does not and it should not shout so loudly that its voice is the only to be heard.
However, in this day and age of consumerism, fads and market trends, we must guard against the commodification of the political process that the fast pace of technological change seems to demand. The computer moves at light speed, information is shared around the world in the blink of an eye, but the human mind does not operate upon the same principles. We need time to think, to discuss, to hash things out -essentially, to make up our minds. If we allow ourselves to be too dazzled by the whiz-bang age we live in, we are in danger of losing our perspective, and even our minds.
In my view, we need to keep the government moving as slowly as it has. It has served us well enough thus far, and should continue to be allowed to do as it was designed to do. We may develop newer and faster technologies, but these must be put to the service of our society, not the other way around. Democracy must represent the majority of us, and a slower system allows everyone the opportunity to have their voices heard - eventually.
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