On Wed, Oct 30, 2002 at 12:41:54PM +0100, Emile van Bergen wrote: > It's much more comfortable to live in an area where you know *everybody* > is subject to the exact same system, a power that protects the freedom > of each individual, as is the case with a good democratic government > with a monopoly on violence. > A "good democratic government" only protects the freedom of the 51% majority who control the government. And if you happen to live in a representative democracy like the US, the the government only protects the freedom of the 1% who control the representatives by paying their salaries and funding their political campaigns. > It's not that some form of balance can't be achieved while continously > fighting each other, that's entirely possible. It's just that I'd rather > see all that energy spent on something positive. Balances come in lots > of forms, high tension to low. A high tension balance among people is > a waste of human energy and creativity, IMHO. > So is it not a waste of human energy to have 99% of the country slaving and barely subsisting so that 1% can live in opulence? Are you under the impression that the US is low tension because it has some tiny claim to democracy? It sure doesn't feel low tension to me. -- michael cardenas | lead software engineer, lindows.com hyperpoem.net | GNU/Linux software developer people.debian.org/~mbc | encrypted mail preferred "There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such an unreal life. They take the images outside of them for reality and never allow the world within to assert itself." - Herman Hesse
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