There has been an overwhelming number of comments, and several people have been asking me to write a little longer with a little more explanation and detail, so this one is for them. If you don’t like that much material, please keep in mind it is on the request from the other readers. If you would like me to write in detail about a certain subject, please write the title of the post, so in the future, I can write a sequel from the post.
Anyway, this is so far the best way of governing ourselves, and it’s called Democracy.
I am going to talk about this most desired governing system by the most educated people of the world. I will present it as it is. I don’t have any political favorites or dislikes in this matter. I believe it has its flaws and is not perfect. It can be used to divide people for political purposes just like religions or God. You still have to compare it with other systems to come to conclusions regarding the effectiveness. If I compare it with other systems, democracy protects human rights the best so far.
If you find your favorite to be something else like communism, socialism, Kingdoms, dictatorships, or religious governing systems, then I would agree to disagree, so I would expect the same from you because I am not arguing. I am simply trying to educate those who want to learn.
“One man, one woman, one vote” has become a thing of the past. Nowadays you have to make some changes according to the changes in society. Sexes and everything in-between have to be counted equally as well. As long as you pass the criteria of the genetics that you are a human being and at a certain age, you are one vote. That is the foundation of the modern democratic system.
If you want to have real meaningful democracy, you have to have the individual awareness of a CEO who can understand those voting rights first. You can’t just be voting democratically if you are influenced by the running person in any way, be it a relative, friend, or someone you just know. Especially, you can’t just vote because you have the same religion or have conservative ideology in modern-day civilization. You have to vote with the best-educated estimation.
Times have been changing and we have been evolving with human rights. At some time, they will clash with our old ideologies and would make it harder to govern societies. If you look around, that is what’s happening all over the world right now. This can only change when the ordinary Joe becomes educated enough to vote for the real purpose of voting. It is all about peaceful and comfortable living in a human community.
You bring democracy to the religiously torn countries, you will have the fundamentalists gain power from both sides, just like in the Israel and Philistine situation. If you can call that a democracy, it is your personal opinion. I would respectfully disagree because an educated individual should vote beyond the sense of belonging to a religion and just for security. The sense of belonging to humanity and human rights should be the priority. If we all can live peacefully in the Western countries regardless of our background, then there is no excuse for the people all over the world. My question is: If Israel were not a Jewish state, would Philistine matter?
When I was in Pakistan, 83% of the population lived in villages. Logically, with such a distribution, a truly successful democracy was improbable, as history shows. Each individual’s vote brings in the people in power who are influenced by religion. Introducing democracy would automatically create chaos because you can’t run the country on religion alone. Religions are and should be the path to spirituality exclusively. As a political governing system, religions fail to provide either, because politics and spirituality don’t mix very well. We have experienced more martial laws in Pakistan than democratic governance in 60 years, yet Pakistan was created by referendum. The chaos is an ongoing process because people don’t want to separate religion from the state.
If you look at religion spiritually, you don’t really need to play politics with it, but there has never been a time when God was not used for political purposes. Ironically, today’s wars among Muslims use God exclusively, with both sides chanting “God is great” before shooting or firing something to kill other Muslims. Poor God must be shaking his head in disgust.
These days, most civilized or developed countries are becoming melting pot societies because people are a lot more flexible and tolerant if educated. Mixing different races, nationalities, religions, or family backgrounds is common.
Today’s nations have to accommodate people from different backgrounds and protect their human rights. That itself is bringing a new set of problems because people seem to have sensitivity for and against discrimination, so the court systems have to catch up with fast social changes.
I believe human rights have to be on top of the agenda for every governing system because people seem to become defensive if they have been living a certain lifestyle for a while. When new people come in who don’t want to blend in or resist the changes from their previous lifestyle, conflicts can rise. Without the flexibility to accept and change, or in other words, evolving with the need of time, it is inevitable that clashes will take place; the level of education can dictate to what degree.
Looking at the language issue in Quebec, it’s clearly a sign of the politics of the sense of belonging. It has nothing to do with the identity of being Canadian. Most people in developed countries are generations of immigrants with ties to their previous countries, so regardless of the soft spot for new immigrants, discrimination arises. This discrimination is usually fear-based, which can be easily overcome if people think they are just part of humanity.
If you learn only one thing, that you belong to French, English, or any country you came from, these problems will always persist. Would you believe that this sense of belonging to a group holds you back or slows you down from reaching your potential individually and collectively?
There is a certain number of immigrants required to keep the workforce up and bring tax revenue, so immigration is a crucial part of the system. Some people feel they are just too good for certain jobs, so immigrants have to fill those jobs.
The problem is the sense of belonging, which is behind all kinds of discrimination.
One country can have provinces, territories, and languages, but the real connection is humanity. If your sense of belonging to your group is out of whack, you would be sensitive and fearful of losing your identity, but if your identity is humanity, you have no need to fear. Just like God and spirituality provide all the security without boundaries, religions and countries provide partial security with boundaries.
This language battle brings a story to mind from my childhood. I don’t remember the writer, so I would call it “Author unknown.” The fundamental idea of the story is the same, but I made some amendments to connect it to Canada.
I am going to call it Canada.
”There once was a king who had 13 kids. When he got sick, he called upon all his kids to come and see him. He told everyone to bring two sticks along. Everyone showed up, and they were told by him to pull one stick out and break it. Without a doubt, they all were able to do that. Then he told them to make a bundle with the rest of the sticks and try it again. Of course, no one, not even the strongest one, could break the bundle. So the old king told them to stick together like the sticks so no one can break you.”
Even though I gave the example of one nation, deep in my heart, my desire is that humanity can stick together so we can combat our issues like global poverty, hunger, health, security, even global warming and related issues as one humanity.
In melting pot societies, you can’t distinguish the identity of the individual. There is a mixture of black and white, brown, yellow, red, or even all-color kids. Religious and cultural mixtures have been going on for a very long time, so every identity is blurred, but one fact stands strong, and that is the individual spirituality for humanity.
Especially in mixed societies in this day and age, you just can’t govern in any other way without considering human rights because all groups discourage individual interaction.
It all boils down to how we identify human beings. If a person’s genetics make them different, they should not be discouraged, yet they are, and interestingly, efforts to discourage them have historically failed and continue to do so. If someone qualifies as a human being, their rights must be protected, meaning religion, race, or nationality should take a back seat. We must accept this reality and stop discriminating against individuals who had no choice in their creation process.
No one, not even a religion or nation, should have the right to discriminate against an individual who qualifies as a human being. As human beings, we should be able to vote for other human beings to govern us. While our political systems may vary, the purpose and desire to run the system remain the same. We aim to send our best to govern, and if they don’t do the job, we can replace them every four years. It’s a great system, only if it functions ideally.
However, when elected, members of parliament often find themselves as mere backbenchers, regardless of the number of votes they received. For example, an MP from a thinly populated area up north might receive far fewer votes compared to one from densely populated areas like Toronto. Thus, the number of votes can’t be accurately compared between urban and rural areas. An MP may receive a large number of votes but fail to achieve a high-ranking position due to political maneuvering. They may become a backbencher regardless of their vote count.
The successful political party forms a government with its brightest minds, regardless of their origin. This means that power lies in the hands of the party leadership. While most people vote based on a political party’s ideology, sometimes there are hidden agendas, and those ideologies may not truly believe in the democratic system. Their goal might be to gain power through politics. Once in power, they systematically diminish opposing groups through negative propaganda until they are marginalized.
All political parties should be transparent about their agendas and should be accountable to democratic values. In a democratic society, all parties should be legally bound to uphold democratic values and protect human rights. This ensures that when they come to power, they are compelled to follow these criteria. In societies with vast differences in thinking, party systems in a democratic society are essential.
The principle of majority rule is fundamental to democracy, but is it always upheld? In reality, our party system often undermines this principle. The number of votes doesn’t always matter; it’s about securing seats and positioning preferred individuals in power, regardless of their vote count. Politics often distorts these processes, and while no system is perfect, it’s our responsibility to make the best of what we have.
Democracy, flawed as it may be, is still better than dictatorship, communism, monarchy, or religious governance. Yet, what is deemed right or wrong can be subjective and sometimes undemocratic.
When political affairs require the brightest minds, the number of votes becomes irrelevant. One thoughtful individual can steer a ship full of emotionally charged individuals by anticipating future problems. However, a compassionate individual can also teach people to govern with empathy and emotional intelligence.
The key difference between running a business and running a country is that in governance, it’s the ruling party that can be ousted, not the other way around. Therefore, believing that a good businessman would make a good political leader is not necessarily true.
If we look further to international organizations like the United Nations, they should also be based on democratic values. However, the veto power held by powerful countries undermines this principle. It’s not about what’s right or wrong; it’s undemocratic.
When democratic systems claim to uphold democratic values but openly use undemocratic practices, it’s purely politics. It’s better to clean up these practices rather than deceive. While the affairs of democratic organizations may be overseen by their brightest minds, this doesn’t always equate to true democracy, especially when one vote per person isn’t a reality. In underdeveloped countries, large populations often don’t translate to democratic representation.
The members of the United Nations are diverse, including kingdoms, authoritarian dictatorships, and religious governments, alongside the veto system. Power isn’t necessarily related to democracy; it’s always been tied to politics. Politics isn’t inherently wrong; it’s just politics. It should be managed carefully by the brightest minds of humanity. Humanity has been evolving and will continue to do so until we reach our potential, so until then, no system is flawless.
In my opinion, anyone seeking political office should study political science and learn how to govern. No one should be allowed to hold office without the necessary education. If someone is wealthy, politics shouldn’t be seen as another adventure; it should be taken seriously, and education should be mandatory.
Compassion is crucial in governance; sheer logic isn’t enough because sometimes the numbers don’t add up. Democracy has its flaws, but it’s proven to be better than any other system mankind has tried. It will continue to improve as we evolve because it’s not limited like religious governance systems are.
Most religions focus on society as a whole but disrespect individual free thought or free will. They shun the strong-willed and attract the weak and vulnerable. Fear of God, death, punishment in the afterlife, and greed for heaven are used to control individuals.
Human rights, on the other hand, focus on individual freedom, free speech, and dignity. Throughout history, murderous regimes and dictators have used religions to gain power and control populations. Religious governance uses fear and promises of rewards to control individuals, leaving them damned whether they believe or not.
Religious institutions often amass vast wealth through monumental buildings and other costly endeavors, demonstrating the lucrative nature of religion. From architects to money laundering, signs of manipulation by the powerful are evident.
Ordinary people seek spirituality but often end up being manipulated by politics, making them vulnerable to exploitation. This is why individual awareness, dignity, and human rights are crucial; the individual is responsible for their life, yet society carries on beyond their life.
When the powerful manipulate governance systems, the importance of the individual is lost. The greater good becomes secondary to the politics of control and power. Whether it’s God or man calling the shots, the bottom line is the politics of control and power.
Democracy, with its one vote per person principle, has flaws. Sometimes, an individual with millions of votes becomes a backbencher, while someone from a remote area with fewer votes becomes a minister due to resource advantages. Thus, the principle of one vote per person is questionable and often falls short.