Who Won Debate on All Peoples Yearn For Democracy?
I attended last night's debate and had a good time. But I do have to protest the chairman's announcement that the negatives prevailed on the evening's resolution: All Peoples Yearn for Democracy. As I recall it, all the people who voted on the evening's resolution were yearning for democracy -- this is in itself a proof of the evening's resolution. Although there were more negative votes than affirmatives, the people who were voting clearly outnumbered those who were abstaining. On that basis alone, the affirmatives won and democracy marches on!
posted by ssc | 2/17/2005 02:06:00 PM
Ah SSC, surely you realize that participating in a democracy is signficantly different that yearning for that democracy. I occasionally wash dishes and change diapers. I yearn for neither.
My recollection was that those voting against the resolution outnumbered those voting in favor of the resolution by almost a 2-1 margin.
As Mr. Greener stated, all people yearn for democracy, they just don't know it. Although I often seek to find some nuance to oppose the illustrious SSC, the only nuance here is to support SSC and the Resolution.
Let us not parse words or lawyer the resolution. Of course all peoples yearn for democracy. Who here can claim they yearn to live in a society of fear with no political rights or political freedoms. Democracy is freedom to speak out, it is freedom from fear, it is the freedom to persuade your fellow man to change or revert to tradition. Democracy is the only means to escape a temporal evil. Certainly we all yearn to escape evil.
As Mr. Greener stated...yes, the Alpha male may rule the colony of chimpanzees, but is it fair to say that the others who live in fear of the Alpha male do not yearn to participate in choosing which banana tree to climb.
Those in the negative need their heads examined. They need to reexamine the human condition or perhaps put themselves at the mercy of an Alpha male.
Again, I will repeat my case. Festivus and Publius show they yearn for democracy by participating. Of course, Festivus and Publius want their own way -- don't we all. But, they use reason (and humor) to persuade us for the common good. This is democracy properly understood. Participating in democracy is a proof of yearning for democracy.
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