Reply to Corlyss: 'Democracy'

You don’t have to travel anywhere to get what people feel about “democracy” - or “socialism”, for that matter. Pick random people on the streets of New York and ask them what they think and they will tell you the most curious things.

There’s still some brand equity in the word “democracy”. Most people on our side of the pond will say they support it - as they might support a new movie theater, a mosque or Walmart opening up around the corner. Ask them what they think of “socialism” and they’ll tell you that’s just fine as well. A recent high school graduate defined ’socialism’ as ‘being sociable’; people ‘connecting with each other as on Facebook‘.

The confusion about basic terms abounds here and everywhere. The schools just don’t teach anything anymore. In New York State 32 billion is spent annually on primary school education (this does not include property taxes paid), yet two-thirds of students are judged ‘not ready’ for college or careers at graduation. In the cities (like Rochester, Elmira, and Syracuse), it can be as high as 95%.

This, in essence, produces a population that can be made to believe anything you want to tell them - and even impose brutal dictatorships under guise of nice-sounding terms and definitions. It’s called ‘hijacking a popular movement’ and it’s the latest rage to sweep the world, including our country. “One man, one vote” sounds great to most people. It’s what comes next, that’s the kicker: “one time”.