A Lesson in Civics

The waves of protests running through America because of the election of Trump is, though I must it seems spell it out that I am speaking in irony here, a good lesson in civics.

It is increasingly clear that   if they don't like the election result, even if the election was fair in terms of the existing system, they feel - and feeling is the operative word, not reasoned conviction and disciplined action - they feel entitled to shout and scream and carry on like school children and protest. In fact I have just seen a video in which school children were out protesting.

Of course the reason here is plain. They do this is because they, the protesters,  believe  not in democracy but in imposing their will by the ballot box and moreover they have no sense that these are two entirely different things. And this is shown by the outrage: thwarted self will

When we had class elections at primary school in order to teach us about voting and the like we were told  that democracy requires that the voter who did not have his candidate selected must  have sufficient respect for the fact as well as nature of opposing views to accept the result. I was taught this in primary school  more than 45 years ago.

We did not call this "Civics" for my homeland  is New Zealand, a country I have never left in my entire life, but that was the purpose and I for one never forgot it even if those who did pout when their best friend was not elected class captain ignored it at the time.

I do not know what they teach in classes they all "Civics" in the USA these days, but even if they try and instil this notion of  respecting, or at least acquiescing, to  the undesired result , the culture at large has become too selfish, too glutted with the self gratification  of endless entertainments and too narcissistic to pay attention.

They fail to see that this behaviour after an election where  their man, or in this instance, woman,   lost is an even bigger subversion of a democracy they profess to believe in than such things as electoral fraud, silencing  or marginalizing third party candidates, superdelegates, and a whole system so awash with the dirty money of corporations that only the business friendly  are likely to win

But of course real political engagement requires more effort than angry noise making, which is why democracies do not last. It is easier to make some noise, smash some windows, ignite some litter bins and show that we have nothing to express but blind outrage

So they who protest think that Trump is dangerous? This may be. But do you make noises the elites will ignore simply because they are ill mannered? Believe me I have seen the objects of protest deny what we were on about as we were ill mannered. Of course in their depravity they will ignore any protest we make if it is polite and peaceful

If they believe in the political system (and whether it is worth believing in is a separate question) they are to engage in it. Party machines will go corrupt if left alone. The truly committed and engaged must flood the party memberships and agitate from within the machine.  They need to see to it that the system does not select two candidates so noxious as Trump and Clinton again

Unless of course such effort  really is a waste of time and violence leading to frenzied blood letting is all that will come, proving that democracy was only ever an impossible and naïve ideal for man never could govern himself.

But crying like children? If they are that infantilized then the situation may very well the lost already