General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Want to know just how fake some pro-TPP people really are? [View all]DirkGently
(12,151 posts)not the other way around?
This discussion always gets weird around elections. People who either literally, or in their mind's eye, are dedicated solely to the victory of a particular person or group are suddenly willing to cast every other consideration to the side. Including the truth and even self-interest, apparently.
Public pressure and public dissent are the way any kind of large democratic regime works. It's really the way any leadership scheme works. A quick perusal of American history proves this to be the case. We've never prospered letting existing power structures or elected leaders cruise along without input or complaint or fear of public outcry.
Aren't WE the people who recognize that power ultimately derives from the consent of the governed? Aren't we the ones who have noticed that even though authoritarians can clamp down and silence dissent for a while, even monarchies crumble when the people are sufficiently displeased?
We're supposed to be the ones who understand that the difference comes in how brutal and ugly public dissent needs to be before something changes. Suggesting that anyone shut up and support someone or something based on identity or loyalty or religion, or any other authoritarian value is primary is exactly the opposite of what democrats / Democrats are supposed to be about.