By Morf Morford, Tacoma Daily Index

Democracy seems like such a great idea.

Who could argue with a political system, as minimal as possible, with no royalty, no powerful ruling dynasties, where “the people” decide on their own representatives and policies?

It sounds ideal – and aspirational. And even nearly impossible.

Maybe we’ve never had it.

And by “we” I don’t mean modern democracies, I mean any time in human history.

As recent headlines have shown us, “We the people” can be an unruly bunch.

We Americans, literally defined by our revolution, consider ourselves, almost by definition “free” – even if we argue forever about what that might mean.

“Free and fair” elections, in theory at least, should clear the way for policy making and orderly transitions of governance.

It’s a beautiful and idealistic premise; we the people, with a stake in the outcome, make our voices known on behalf of the larger community (and, implicitly, the future) as we choose and advocate for those from among ourselves to represent our best, highest and most enduring interests.

Free election of masters does not abolish the masters or the slaves. – Herbert Marcuse

We ask much of our politicians, perhaps too much.

And the higher the office, the more unrealistic.

Candidates promise to “save” or “restore” America (or at least some of their favorite aspects of it).

But realistically, what could any of them, of any ideology or political party, actually do?

It is a truism that we, in a democracy, get the government we deserve.

Perhaps in some way, to some degree, we get a government, or at least a political climate, that reflects who we, or at least the loudest voices among us, really are.

Our presidents “R” us

[The American President] has to take all sorts of abuse from liars and demagogues… The people can never understand why the President does not use his supposedly great power to make ’em behave. Well, all the President is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway. – Harry S. Truman

We like to tell ourselves that our president is one of us, and that any one of us could aspire to our nation’s highest offices.

But at the same time, some of us see our president as a combination of a prophet, rock-star, a stern visage on statues or coins, or even as something like a savior, or as some nations have put it, a “dear leader”.

We do, after all, put our president’s images on our money.

For those of us who use cash (fewer and fewer each year) we see (or handle) our dead presidents on a regular basis.

To a large degree, there is a strong element of “the man behind the curtain” to how most of us see our elected representatives.

We, as a nation, speak, and our leaders, local or regional, and certainly nationally, represent and embody us – and what we believe.

In a sense, then, the president is us.

But should we believe what they tell us about themselves? And us?

People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war, or before an election. – Otto von Bismarck

We used to call them “public servants”, but in a very real way, we give ourselves to those we have elected.

And most of us never really have a deep confidence that our trust will not be in vain.

For many of us, nothing is more “American” than scepticism of a government – that we take for granted too easily – and its power and some level of benevolence that purports to facilitate possibilities of freedom and opportunity and justice but may, just as easily, by its nature and the corruption that attends power as a matter of course, obstruct and repress those same possibilities.

These are fundamental American arguments that have simmered – if not exploded – since Thomas Jefferson and James Madison came up against John Adams and Alexander Hamilton on every issue from taxes to citizenship and a national identity.

Our Founding Fathers, like us now, were more united in their hatred of a common enemy (in their case, The British Monarchy) than by any philosophy or ideology they may have held in common.

Politicians are like bad horsemen who are so preoccupied with staying in the saddle that they can’t bother about where they’re going. – Joseph Alois Schumpeter

Term limits are a good idea.

Or at least the premise behind them is good idea.

Politicians, especially career politicians, no matter their intentions, find themselves increasingly distanced from the real world of work and paying bills and every day life of those they supposedly represent.

Their focus, almost by necessity, is staying in office – at almost any cost.

Oddly enough, suspicion of government may be the single healthiest, most enduring and most reassuring distinction of the American political personality.

There is, almost by definition, the type of person who is good at campaigning and persuasion, and the person who excels at focused and effective administration – and rarely do the two intersect.+

You have the army of mediocrities followed by the multitude of fools. As the mediocrities and the fools always form the immense majority, it is impossible for them to elect an intelligent government. – Guy de Maupassant

Idealistically or naïvely, we believe that we can, and should, or are even destined to create a government in our own image.

Whether we are cheered or horrified at our own creation is, of course the ultimate verdict of our own choices.

It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it…Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. – Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

We might not like the process, or the leaders we end up with, but, believe it or not, if we don’t participate and keep ourselves informed, it could be a lot worse.

To put it mildly, human nature is rarely improved when more power is made accessible to it.

We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate. – Thomas Jefferson

Politics in general, is one of those topics best not brought up in public or where one may not know where allegiances may lie.

But, as with money, what we don’t know can certainly hurt us.

Our politicians might be notorious for passing laws and rules that do not, by some miracle apparently, apply to them – but they do apply to most of us.

And, for our own good, we better keep our eyes on their actions – even more than their words.

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you. – Perecles, Greek Statesman

You don’t need to watch the late night talk shows to find absurd, ignorant statements of glaring stupidity and cluelessness from our most prominent of politicians.

Clichés and buzzwords abound – as do evasions and one-size-fits-all talking points.

Leaders who live up to our, or even their own, expectations, seem to be a vanishing breed.

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. – Plato

There’s more to citizenship than voting of course.

We can act as responsible and caring citizens at every level, every age and every background.

Not everyone can (or wants to) vote, but we can all pay attention to the issues we care about.

From potholes to public schools, to transit, and much more, we all have a stake in where our energy and tax dollars go.

The most important office, and the one which all of us can and should fill, is that of private citizen. – Louis Brandeis, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

All kinds of neighborhood groups are available for any issue or aspect of your community you care about.

And, at any level, from president to school board member, one criteria seems to hold true century after century;

He who does not desire power is fit to hold it. – Plato