At 01:07 PM 1/31/02 +0100 Baardwijk, J. van DTO/SLWPD/RZO/BOZO wrote:
>Now, go stand over there in the corner, face towards the wall, and bow your
>head in shame.
Ok, I have not responded to Eileen's warning to me On-List in large part
because I have been extremely busy over the last few days, and have barely
had time to even read the posts. (People who keep list-activity stats
have no doubt noticed that I tend to drop-out in the middle of the week for
the past six months or so at least.) I must say, though, that I have been
very impressed that the List has managed to turn this discussion into a
fascinating discussion of the purpose of government and the extent of the
freedom of speech.
In a sence, after all, the list-owners are the government of Brin-L. A
government is a societal institution that is given a set of powers by the
people for the benefit of the people. In the same way, the list-owners
are the only bearers of power for the List Community - and as such, are
essentially our government.
Thus, in the present situation, we have a case where a member of this
government who was personally involved in a conflict with another member of
the Society (Brin-L), used his influnce among the government to issue a
formal threat of force (expulsion) against another list-member. Among
the members of the Community, however, there is universal disagreement with
this action. Except for Eileen, not one member has spoken in favor of the
action taken and even the third list-owner has disagreed in large part with
it.
What has the reaction of the original member of the government been,
however? Instead of recognizing that his position is a position of
service to the Brin-L Community, derving its power and authority from the
PEOPLE of the Society, he has instead instead cast shame upon all members
of the Community who have disagreed with him - which in effect has been an
action to cast shame upon the entirety of the active citizenry of the
Community.
This certainly is not the first time that a leader of a Community has found
himself or herself in direct opposition to the majority or even the vast
majority of the members of that Community. Once, however, that Leader no
longer sees fit to bend his will in difference to the will of the
Community, especially the near unanimous and vocally and actively expressed
will of the Community, then at that point the Community is slipping away
from democracy and slouching towards other governmental arrangements.
Thus, in most democratic societies there are a number of appropriate
actions that would usually occur to resolve this difference between
Community and Leaders. The first step, especially in many European
Communities, is the responsibility of the Leader in question, who suddenly
has found that the policies he or she cares deeply about are strongly
opposed by the Community. If necessary, however, there are further steps
that are the responsibility of the Community to ensure that the governance
reflects the will of the Community.
In the interests of civil society, I will leave the rest of the details to
the honor and integrity of the members of the List and its Governance.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"Our campaign against international terrorism does not represent some
sort of 'clash of civilizations.' Instead, it is a clash between
civilization and those who would destroy it." -Amb. Richard N. Haass
