Everything that I need to know about Democracy, I learned in High School. It’s true. By the time I started work at 14, I had a very good understanding about how democracy worked.  

Now, this wasn’t by sitting down in Civics Class. It wasn’t by listening to a teacher instruct us. It wasn’t by reading a book on politics. No. It was by my experiences on Student Council.  

You know, it is absolutely amazing to me that I received such a profound understanding at such an early age. Even my father, a staunch liberal democrat, couldn’t wrap his arms around my perception of it. He thought that they must have been teaching me some very strange things indeed. Yet, here we were. I would come home from school with a perception of governance that was alien to everything that he believed In.

Let’s spend some time and take a look at what I learned.

Student Council was Comprised of the Most Popular Boys and Girls

While I cannot speak for every single school in the 1960s and 1970s, I can most certainly state that at my school this was true.

In my school, the members on the student council were primarily the most popular students. Gender had no bearing on this. If you were a popular football player, or a popular cheerleader, your entry into Student Council was near guaranteed. Those who were not major figures in school sports and activities were always attractive.

We can see this clearly in the United States federal elections.

Consider who the winners of the Democrat Party have been. Let’s go back to when I was a little boy and have a gander, shall we;

• John F. Kennedy
• Jimmy Carter
• Bill Clinton
• Barrack Obama

All were young and youthful when elected. All, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, was considered by the media as a sort of sex idol. The stories of the sexual escapades of John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton are all over the place.

If they were all attending middle school together, I could easily see them on Student Council together. 

John F. Kennedy would be the Football quarterback who was always joking around. The same would be true for George Bush.

Jimmy Carter would be the quiet one who would be the first one in the meeting, and the last one to leave. He would have a notebook, pencil and a pocket protector. 

Bill Clinton would enter the room like a talk show host, with one girl on each arm. 

Both Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan would be outside in the hallway getting their pictures taken and signing autographs.

Then, old Barrack Obama would arrive about fifteen minutes late. He’d smell of marijuana smoke. He would grab a seat at the table, lean the chair against the wall. He’d put dark sunglasses on and tip his hat to cover his eyes. He would sit there and not say anything.

Elections were Won by those who Gave Away Things

One of the first lessons that I learned was that you got elected by giving things away. As amazing as this it, it was my most important lesson. It is true.

My next door neighbor was always getting elected to office in her class. She was one grade below me, and she must have been President for six or seven years in a row. I remember well talking to her about this. That was when she told me her secret.

Before each election, her parents would buy her a bag of candy or lollypops. Then she would give everyone a candy of lollypop if they voted for her!

It’s true, and more than that, it actually worked. They would go vote with the candy in their mouths. They would fill out the ballot sucking on the tootsie-roll, or lollypop.  If she won, they were guaranteed to get another candy or maybe two after the election.

We can see this today.

Everyone who runs for election promises things to their constituents. Look at Bernie Sanders, for instance. He wants everything to be free. Of course he doesn’t mention or detail how it will be paid for. Maybe it’s from a big magical Santa Claus, or more than likely form the “evil” rich people.

He has promised all kinds of things…

• Medicare for everyone for FREE
• College for everyone for FREE
• Removing Marijuana ban
• Universal Housing for Everyone
• Drugs for FREE
• Expansion of Social Security
• FREE Campaign Funding for everyone
• Massive Increases toward Puerto Rico
• Forcing Christians Holding Public Office To Wear Scarlet Cross
• Break up all “Big” Banks
• Extra “wealth tax” to everyone who works
• Break up “Wall Street”

Of course, one of the most important lessons that I learned was that a promise means nothing. No one ever kept their promises. Even when there were friends and classmates that kept on reminding them of their promises.

At best they would say that things were more complicated than they thought at the time before the election. Or, more often than not, simply did not respond to the accusations. Some of the smarter ones would say that they were “working on the issues”, but of course, they never produced any results.

Endorsements Worked

I noticed that when a popular person endorsed you, you would get votes. I also noted that if a hated person, or disliked person was your friend, you would lose votes comparatively.

One year my younger brother ran for office. To help him get elected, my sister came to his rescue. At the time she was (perhaps) the most popular girl in school. She was smart, attractive, the head cheerleader, and was going “steady” with the captain of the football team. Yeah, by High School measurements, she was pretty “hot” stuff.

So my sister went to my brother’s home room, not once but numerous times. She mingled with the boys and girls there and make friends. Then she would tell them that her kid brother was running for election and that she would REALLY appreciate it if everyone would give him their vote.

Needless to say, he ran and won.

Vote Stuffing was Common

Of course, we always needed to recount the votes. In fact we needed to have different people counting the boxes of votes. And they needed to be watched carefully. Every election had fraud.

One of the most common frauds was that in a class of 400 people, there would be 500 votes counted. People from other classes would vote. Some people would vote twice. And, some votes were counted twice by those counting the votes.

Another thing was that sometime students would get to bring cousins or friends to school with them. This was not a common occurrence. However, during key elections there would be an increase in these visits, and often they would be able to vote right along  with the rest of the class. Even when they didn’t know anyone, they still voted. Often time, they would be instructed on whom to vote for.

It was common that the class with the most voting fraud was also the ones who said that there wasn’t any vote fraud at all. It seemed like there was a direct correlation; if you were trying to rig an election, you would be the one to shout “discrimination” the loudest.

Today it has become so easy to rig an election. As many voting machines are electronic. A person with the right software can easily reset the machines to vote for anyone.

Followers went around People who had Something to Offer them Personally

Another thing that I noticed was that certain people had followers. I am sure that the reader has noticed this. Some people have followers. These people hang around them, and nod in agreement with every word that they say.

If the boy was a star quarterback, for instance, he would be surrounded by other popular football players. He would have some attractive cheerleaders around him as well. If the girl was particularly attractive, she might have other girls, not necessarily cheerleaders, who wanted to hand out with her.

These followers weren’t there because they were being paid. No. Instead they were there because the followers would gain something from latching and attaching themselves with the person. Plain girls would suddenly become more popular if they hung around with a popular and attractive girl. Guys might be invited to some get-togethers and parties. Some would benefit in other ways. For instance, one of my friends was always able to get a ride home from the school by hanging around with more popular kids with cars.

We can see that today.

Look at the Clintons, for instance. There is a term “the cult of the Clintons” that describe this phenomenon quite aptly. It is just like in High School, except on GMO-steriods.

“By the Cult of Hillary Clinton, I don't mean the nearly 62 million Americans who voted for her. I have not one doubt that they are as mixed and normal a bag of people as the Trumpites are. No, I mean the Hillary machine—the celebs and activists and hacks who were so devoted to getting her elected and who have spent the past week sobbing and moaning over her loss. These people exhibit cult-like behavior far more than any Trump cheerer I've come across.

Trump supporters view their man as a leader "fused with the idea of the nation"? Perhaps some do, but at least they don't see him as "light itself." That's how Clinton was described in the subhead of a piece for Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter. "Maybe [Clinton] is more than a president," gushed writer Virginia Heffernan. "Maybe she is an idea, a world-historical heroine, light itself," Nothing this nutty has been said by any of Trump's media fanboys.

"Hillary is Athena," Heffernan continued, adding that "Hillary did everything right in this campaign… She cannot be faulted, criticized, or analyzed for even one more second."

That's a key cry of the Cult of Hillary (as it is among followers of L. Ron Hubbard or devotees of Christ): our gal is beyond criticism, beyond the sober and technical analysis of mere humans. Michael Moore, in his movie Trumpland, looked out at his audience and, with voice breaking, said: "Maybe Hillary could be our Pope Francis."

Or consider Kate McKinnon's post-election opening bit on SNL, in which she played Clinton as a pantsuited angel at a piano singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," her voice almost cracking as she sang: "I told the truth, I didn't come to fool ya." Just imagine if some right-leaning Christian celeb (are there any?) had dolled up as Trump-as-godhead and sang praises to him. It would have been the source of East Coast mirth for years to come. But SNL's Hallelujah for Hillary was seen as perfectly normal.”

-Reason.com

Followers surround a person or celebrity precisely because they will benefit from it in some way. Indeed, there are “groupies” that follow elected officials around. The gals will volunteer for any and all work, just to get near a noted personality. Of course, there are other activities that take place in private that involve these groupies and followers.

This isn’t reserved for politics, it includes anyone who is in any way famous. This includes mass murders as well.

Reputations Travelled Faster than Advertisements

When I ran for student government, I would make banners, put up posters and go from room to room making speeches. Others, didn’t need to. It was almost like they didn’t need to do anything. They were elected automatically.

• Some were elected because they were part of a dynasty. They had older brothers and sisters who were popular and attractive. When their relatives or younger brethren ran for government, they were often associated with the more popular children, even if they weren’t popular at all.
• Some just had a reputation. If you were part of an unpopular group, you were always associated with that group. Even if you tried to distance yourself from it. No amount of posters, or speeches could change that fact.
• Some were elected because a popular person had a relationship with them. One friend was elected because he had an ongoing relationship with the head cheerleader. He wasn’t anything special to look at, he wasn’t smart. He wasn’t popular. He wasn’t a football player. However, he had a very popular and attractive girlfriend. That was enough.

In short, none of these individuals were elected based on any tangible ability. They were elected on association. Either they had relatives that were popular, or they had friends that were popular. If they were associated with something unpopular or unattractive, they were shunned.

Governance had Nothing to do with Ability

At no time was anyone elected to school council based on ability. No one showed their report card. No one compared grades, sports scores, or participation in extra-curricular activities.

They were elected by mob rule based on the factors that appealed to the mob.

We see that today with many people in government, and most especially elected officials, completely ignorant of the law. They do not know even the basics of the United States and how it is structured. That includes Federal Senators that should know better.

How else can you explain the clowns that are constantly being elected to Congress today?

Power was Easily Abused

One of the first things that you learn in High School is that when you are elected, you get to make up the rules. As Class President, I was able to set aside meetings, and pronouncement. I could control whether or not a club could have money for a parade float, or how the Senior Prom would be constructed.

As a result, I discovered that I had many people coming to me asking for favors.

These favors could be given at will, or for a price. The bigger the request the larger the price I could ask. I quickly learned that I could trade favors for advantage. If I wanted to be popular with a group of girls (for instance), I could help them out in things that appealed to them.  Once, there was a group of girls who I enjoyed study-hall square-dancing with, by granting them the freedom to decorate the “Home Room”, I garnered favor with them. That favor was translated into a positive reputation for all of their friends.

Heck, I even got a free pizza out of it! When a group of pretty girls take you out and buy you a pizza, that’s big news when you are 17 years of age!

Today, as an older man, I can easily see how power is constantly abused and misused.  This can be anything from using government airplanes, to skimming off the top and getting kick-backs on funding.

Many Opportunities for Embezzlement

I well remember that when I became Class President, I inherited a class budget of $240 dollars that had been collected over the years. During the year, I make sure that no money was spent on anything. Which, to the distain of the cheerleaders, was quite a negative. Never the less, they were able to, somehow fund their sock-hops, dances, car-washes, and parades. However, at the end of the year we only had $25 in the till. The Class Treasurer had no idea where the money went. It just disappeared.

Obviously someone’s hand was in the till. But whos? We’ll never know.

Which makes me remember all through that particular year. Numerous groups in the school wanted me to raise class dues. At that time, the dues were an enormous $5/year. It might not sound like much today, but at that time, it was considered rather excessive. They wanted to increase it to $10/year. Later, I found out that they really just wanted it to be $8/year, but they were aiming high and negotiating downward.

They had stated that the increase was to take care of basic class materials that was not covered by the school. This included such things as disposable paper plates and plastic tablecloths for a planned outing and class trip. It also included such things as snacks and fixings for sandwiches.

I later noticed, when I went through the purchased groceries that many of the items were tagged “buy one get one free”, yet only one item was included in the package that I reviewed. For example, there was a large bag of Lays potato chips.  On it was a sticker that said “two for the price of one” and a green piece of tape that was clear evidence that another bag was attached to it. Yet, the other bag was missing. Where did it go?

Obviously the person who bought the items kept some of the items for themselves. Also when reviewing the items, I noted that there were some items that were paid for, but that were not given to the class. These things included cigarettes, some candy bars, two bags of potato chips and some other minor items.

One can only imagine what these individuals would do if they had access to a multi-million dollar budget.

Friends were promoted to Positions of Power

Another thing that I noted had to do with friends and associations. If a task needed to be done, and it was a desirable task, friends were elected to do it. For instance, once we needed to take a ride out to a nearby town and buy some paint. The lucky people who were to do this had no time limit on getting the paint. As such, they could actually take the entire half of the day off to do that simple one hour task.

Obviously, friends were selected to assist them in these tasks.

Isn’t that the same way today. Look at the “deep state” that is dogging every single thing that President Donald Trump is trying to do. Yet, they had no problem implementing every program or task the President Obama was involved in. We can also well remember the fiasco with the “Travel Office” when Bill Clinton was in office. Of course, his presidency was not free of controversy. Consider the issues found HERE and HERE.

Ah. Just another day in politics. Yuck.

Perks of Office could be Expanded Upon Easily

Another thing that I learned was that I could create perks of my office. I could also expand upon those perks.

For instance, the class president did not get anything other than a title. Yet, I noticed that in a grade below me, somehow the class president was able to get to use an unused closet as a storage location. Using that as a precedent, I was able to convince the school to let “us” students on the school council have access to an unused room in the basement. They granted us that ability.

Using that, we were able to decorate it. As I was the president of the oldest class, I discovered that I was able to “boss around” or influence the other class presidents. I was able to dictate how the room was to be decorated, and who got to use it and what times they could come and go. I soon discovered that only my class was the only class using that room.

Using our influence, we were able to convert that room into a class lounge. It was used for our class only, and none of the other students outside of our class could have access to it.

Blue-Ribbon Panels were set up to Justify the Status-Quo

Since we now had a class lounge, a method of being able to leave class and visit the lounge needed to be put into effect. So, in short order we created a series of automatic “get out of class” privileges which enabled us to go to the lounge provided the student met certain criteria.

Eventually we negotiated to get the criteria dropped, and we even set up a committee (a “blue ribbon” committee) to determine who could have access to these vaulted hallway privileges.

Of course, the entire game was rigged. Our friends and associates could access the hallways and roam at will. Others would need to provide us favors or pay a small fee to get let into the game. This could include cash, but more often or not it involved a pack of cigarettes or a six pack of beer.

Now, you can’t tell me that this doesn’t go on in Washington, D.C. can you?

Checks and Balances were Weak or Nonexistent

One of the great things that I discovered was that aside from the regular day-to-day student life, no one was policing our actions. With the understanding that we were members of the Student Council and that we had various student related “things” that we were involved in, we could leverage that knowledge to our advantage.

For instance, I could take time off and visit my friends at a vocational-technical school socially (and get them out of class). I would just make up an excuse and there we could meet. I could roam the halls at will. I could skip out of class early and arrive late. I could take long lunch periods and I could have access to forbidden areas of the school, such as the locker rooms, the weight room, the school yard, and the parking lot. All without trouble.

Having the title gave me privileges.

Even though there were other students who saw the scam, and enemies or jealous students tried to curtail my efforts, they were ineffective. For the school teachers point of view, as well as the administration, I had the right to do what I was doing. It did not matter how far I pushed the envelope, as long as it did not interfere in the education of the rest of the school.

As such, I did take full advantage of this.

My Father Didn’t Understand

My father was unable to understand why I was not a liberal democrat like himself. I think that he took it as a personal affront, or maybe he thought that I was “brainwashed” by the school. Yet the truth is that the school afforded me an education that no book-learning in Civics Class could ever do. It gave me the opportunity to see how governance worked within a democracy.

For that is exactly what was provided in school; democratic elections were each person got one vote.

It was mob rule by disinterested classmates. Many of which couldn’t care less who was going to be the class president or the class officers. They actually were (in some cases exactly) the “unwashed masses”.

Now my father was always trying to impress upon me that being in political office was a big responsibility. He wanted me to understand that I could do great things while in office. He wanted me to appreciate the opportunities that it gave me to help others and to better the lives of my fellow man.

Heck, I just needed the experience so that I could qualify for the United States Air Force Academy.

Take Aways

• Human nature does not change when a person becomes an adult.
• Democracy is actually organized mob rule.
• The person who can best control the mob, can rule over them.
• The United States is a Republic, not a Democracy.
• The individual states that comprise the United States are set up as Democracies.
• All of the problems that I experienced in student government, manifest in State and Federal governments.
• Those whom enjoy money, power and fame gravitate to politics.
• Most politics in America today is mostly as a specator sport.

RFQ

Does anyone have a better idea?

All my life, as an American I was taught the superiority of a republic. I was also taught how important (and great) that America was a democracy. That way, everyone had a (theoretical) say in the governing of their life. I was taught the dangers of socialism, and particularly communism.  I was told the benefits of democracy in making America great.

However, as I have traveled, lived life, experienced life, and generally lived in places that were considered Hell-holes (when I was growing up), I have come to question this narrative. I am not the only one, either…

"Certainly there are more clever and nefarious, but the fact that imbeciles like Maxine are actually voted into policy making, authoritative positions, demonstrates that we have failed miserably."

-1981XLS Comment

In fact, I have come to ask some pretty blistering questions. These are questions that I would have never asked earlier.

1. Is “democracy” a superior way of governing a society? Obviously the founders of the United States didn’t think so. Read the Federalist Papers. They despised democracies.
2. Is a “republic” a superior way of governing a society? With all the ills that America has today, especially in light of it actually being a oligarchy for all practical purposes, perhaps it really isn’t.
3. Is “free market” communism a superior way of governing a society? It seems to be working quite well for China. At least, mind you, for now.
4. Is a “theology” a superior way of governing a society?  After all, both the Vatican, and Iran are theologies. I never hear about starving children in either of those nations, nor do I hear about crime or any of the ills that seemingly plague America today.

Now, the reader should not misunderstand me. I am not throwing out the American constitution with the “bath water”. I am just questioning things that I have always (up to now) took as immutible truths.

"It is indeed a slow motion train wreck......there comes a point when the level of retardation has momentum of its own, not easy to turn around by any means. Such are the forces of history and crowd psychology. Another evolutionary cul de sac of yet more ideas that were hijacked and rammed into the ground by the same group of psychopaths, and their dumb followers.

The institutions mankind created with the birth of "civilization" a few thousand years ago, - namely the state, propaganda, banking, religion and military, have morphed into monstrosities, hijacked by sociopaths at every level. Mankind went from the tribal collective connected spiritually with the Earth, to a mass manufactured plantation farm, disconnected from its Earthly roots. There are bubbles of freedom here and there, for those of us who actually know what freedom means, but most are hopelessly enslaved zombies. 

Freedom come with caveats, like, responsibility, - something most people wish to escape from. While the "leaders" invented the limited liability corporation to avoid accountability of their own actions, and forego skin in the game. Many of these institutions enable bad decision making.

Many people don't even know what to do with freedom, so they fall back onto the lame, default expectations of mainstream society and its stupefying culture."

-Brazen Heist Mon, 05/14/2018 - 18:16

Perhaps we need to take a good hard look at what America has actually turned into and what it is today. We need to see the influences on governance, and how they affect the bulk of Americans in society today. We need to really understand our global role as it is [1] ill defined, and [2] manipulated substantially for [3] the gains that do not benefit the average American.

We need a top-down rethinking of the American governmental structure.

We need to take in account;

1. The needs of the individual.
2. The global relationship of America to other nations.
3. The Rights all humans have, and a way of protecting them from elected officials.
4. Controls to prevent mob rule.
5. Controls to prevent tyrannity.
6. Controls to prevent the government to being an all-powerful entity.
7. The role of justices and courts and how to enforce universal fairness.
8. Controls to prevent rules, laws, bureaucracies, and out of control spending.
9. The individual need for privacy in our personal papers and day to day life.

I, myself, have no easy answers. What I do know is that older civilizations and cultures do not utilize democracies as stable vectors for long-term governance of their societies. I would like to hear your view on this.

FAQ

Q: Did you ever make a student council speech?
A: Yes. Of course I cannot remember it. I do remember that I spent about an hour on it, and I was amazed how well thought out it sounded. I also remember how it was delivered. It would have been fine except that there were audio problems at the time. Audio problems, I later found out was actually sabotage by a rival confederate.

Q: What were the student council positions available to you?
A: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Master at Arms, and archivist.  I only ran for president when I was running for anything. My motivation was positions that looked best on school records.

Q: What were student council elections like?
A: Mimeographed sheets of those who were running for government was presented to all of us. Those who were running were not permitted to vote. So we stood outside in the hallway while the votes were in process. The voter would check off who they would want for each position. Only one vote per position was allowed.

Q: How often were the meetings for student council?
A: I seem to remember that they were held about once a month. However, they could have been easily head weekly. It all depended on who was in charge at the time.

Q: What were class elections like?
A: They were the same as the Student Council elections, only that everyone could vote. This would include the candidates. Prior to the vote there would be a chance for each of us to make a speech or a pitch as to why they would make a good candidate. When I ran for class President, I ran on a platform with a VP, treasurer, and a master of arms.

Q: Did you hold any elected position in your class?
A: Yes. I was the class President.

Q: What happened to your High School?
A: It was incorporated with another school in a bigger town in the 1990’s. The school building was abandoned for about five years, and then the town repurposed it for the town offices and civic storage.

Q: Do you think that State and Federal elections are the same as the elections that you had in school?
A: Yes. The only different is in scale. The rewards are greater, as is the potential for fraud.

Free Republic Posting

This post was introduced to Free Republic on 27JUL18. You can read the comments HERE.

Posts Regarding Life and Contentment

Here are some other similar posts on this venue. If you enjoyed this post, you might like these posts as well. These posts tend to discuss growing up in America. Often, I like to compare my life in America with the society within communist China. As there are some really stark differences between the two.

More Posts about Life

I have broken apart some other posts. They can best be classified about ones actions as they contribute to happiness and life. They are a little different, in subtle ways.

Stories that Inspired Me

Here are reprints in full text of stories that inspired me, but that are nearly impossible to find in China. I place them here as sort of a personal library that I can use for inspiration. The reader is welcome to come and enjoy a read or two as well.

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Notes

1. First draft 10MAY18.
2. SEO, Internet and release 10MAY18.