Democracy comes from the Greek words “demos,” meaning people, and “kratos,” meaning power, so it can be thought of as a way of governing that depends on the will of the people. We should remember this when it comes to national, state and local politics. Delving into “demos,” or people, a bit more, we should ask who are the people who have the power? In the United States and most other democracies, the people, by law, are the citizens of the country. It is always amusing to me that we have endless discussions about voter ID laws when we really should be talking about whether the people who are voting are citizens. Many noncitizens, such as green card holders, might have IDs, but they certainly aren’t eligible to vote because they are not subject to all the laws passed by those for whom they vote. “Kratos,” or power, comes from the people giving power to politicians because they agree with what they claim they will do once they are elected. They also assume their elected representatives will be transparent and honest and do what they said they would do. The unwritten covenant is that those who are elected will always put their country, state, city or municipality first and their own self-interests or the interests of their immediate circle of friends second. It’s unfortunate that at multiple levels, we have strayed from these basic principles and therefore have risked damaging the very pillars of democracy. It appears that restating the facts or ensuring that another’s point of view is censured is now par for the course. Witness President Biden saying the withdrawal from Afghanistan was a great success when the people knew it was an embarrassment.
Witness both parties increasing the money supply by 40% and blaming inflation on Russia.
Witness what Elon Musk is uncovering at Twitter. The propensity to put self-interests before country was symbolized by President Trump, who made it a condition for candidates he supported to publicly acknowledge that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Locally, we have Mayor Pounds and Councilman Hahn, who, during the election, publicly acknowledged that if they had to choose, they would pick the interests of residents first. However, they recently strayed from this commitment.
The people, who have the power, are beginning to realize they must be more judicious about who they give the power to in the future. Nevertheless, we are a hopeful people, and there is always something we can learn if we stop being defensive or assigning blame. Whether or not you agree with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policies, you must admit that he said what he was going to do and had the courage to do it. In the process, he carried 65 out of 69 counties across all political spectrums and demographics, with a 70% approval rating from the people who know him best.
In the end, politics is like life – people are only as good as their word, and their word should be their bond.
