Hi Ron --
Was not our society built apon egalitarianism? "Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights. [also] The United States Declaration of Independence includes a kind of moral and legal egalitarianism. Because "all men are created equal, "each man is to be treated equally under the law. Similar to many other developed nations of the time, it was not until much later that the U.S. society extended these benefits to slaves, women and other groups. Over time, universal egalitarianism has won wide adherence and is a core component of modern civil rights policies."-wiki Are you saying that it was wrong to extend these benefits to women, slaves and other groups? And doesn't this make egalitarianism an indigenous cultural value since it IS part of our founding doctrines?
Not only was the vote initially restricted to free white male citizens, but they had to show proof of literacy and property ownership. The Founding Fathers were not egalitarians; they realized that a "one man, one vote" policy would lead to mob rule. As Thomas Jefferson said, "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." They were not establishing a "democracy" -- the word doesn't even appear in the Constitution -- but a Republic. And they wanted assurance that the voters were investors in the establishment with a personal stake in its future. (By comparison, one only has to show a driver's licence.or ID card today at most polling booths, and the election board will conveniently provide a translation of the ballot for those who don't read English.)
I would like to see the voting privilege limited to educated English-speaking people of eligible age with at least one year of U.S. citizenship, who know our national history, who are not criminals or mentally incapacitated, and who can show evidence of monetary credit. Otherwise, we'll continue to have nonsensical voting recounts and an increasing number of immigrants who just got off the boat (may not even be citizens), have no means of support, no understanding of what being an American means, and are casting their vote for a handout. Does that make sense?
Wiki's endorsement of egalitarianism as "a core component of modern civil rights policies" is a sorry example of what has gone wrong with America. Every sex, every lobbyist group, every ethnic minority demands the "right" to some special favor just because he/she makes a home here. Legislating a civil right for one group takes advantage over all others and makes a mockery of the "egalitarianism" you eulogize; yet, the people who petition for a civil right are the folks advocating equality for all! If you're born on American soil, you're automatically granted the right to U.S. citizenship. All other "rights" should be earned, or at least justified by reason. The rights that I've seen demanded in my seven decades on this planet have demonstrated neither qualification, but a only growing dissatisfaction with life in America. My response to these activists is: "Find a country where you can have more liberty than you have here, and move there!"
Ham:
Why do you find this a "conflict of interest"?
Ron:
Because you seem to cite individualism as the very cause of multiculuralisms failure.
An individualist will invariably meet resistance in a collective society. Modern civilization is a testament to the fact that people of disparate values and beliefs can overcome their differences sufficiently to live in peace and harmony. The alternative is turning out human beings in the same mold, with no differences, no original ideas, no unique aptitudes or personalities, no powers of discrimination. That's the dull, gray world of egalitarianism where nothing and no one is better or worse than anything or anyone else. Go find it, if you can. I choose to stay here where I can value Difference.
Thanks, Ron. --Ham Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
