It has been quite a year already, and it’s only March. We’ve got even more quite-a-year ahead of us. But these problems aren’t limited to the U.S.; most of the globe is seeing similar autocratic movements and uprisings these days.…
Freedom & Consent: There Are No Legitimate States
Countries like to claim that they are constituted “with the consent of” their populations. This is generally nonsense. While many countries today have constitutions that were adopted by referendum within living memory, few of them were adopted recently enough that…
Former: The Most Important Word In Government Titles
The most important thing to keep in mind about having a role in the State is that it ends, and then you go home and you’re just another citizen again. This is really important. My father, with whom I agree…
My Way: Calls For “Unity” Are Inherently Autocratic
This focus on “unity” and “divisiveness” is flat-out unhealthy for a democracy and really needs to stop. “Unity” just means “you all should do what I want”. What else could it mean? The person calling for unity is never offering…
Just Sayin’: How A Democracy Would Organize Its Military
Not as a miniature bubble of autocracy, that’s for sure. What sane democracy would centralize its most dangerous weaponry under the control of the citizens least in tune with its societal values? Seriously: the United States’ military as currently constituted…
Inalienable: A Democracy Cannot Take Away A Citizen’s Right To Vote
This one seems to be inexplicably controversial. But seriously, follks. The right of all citizens to vote is what makes a democracy a democracy. Or a republic, for all you pedants in the back. It’s so much a part of…
You Need To Read This: How To Avoid Swallowing War Propaganda
You very much need to read this, from Current Affairs. He’s right, and brave to say this. Saying that someone was “responsible for the deaths of U.S. service members” does not, in and of itself, tell us anything about whether…
Moar War: Well, That Was Timely
So, my last post (Just Sayin: How A Democracy Would Go To War) turned out to be waaaaay more timely than I’d planned. That’s probably not a good thing. I’m not trying to be timely. I decided to start writing…
Just Sayin: How A Democracy Would Go To War
War is bad, mmmkay? But sometimes, it’s necessary. The thing is, we really, really, don’t agree on when. Hell, at this point there’s an active component of the American public who think we shouldn’t have gone to war against the…