Democratic Process

Voters in Moorpark added another notch to the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR) dandle, prompting Save Open Space stalwart Roseann Mikos to proclaim, “It’s a great day for participatory democracy” (Ventura County Perspective, Jan. 24).

In congratulatory tone, Mikos would have everyone think that this participatory democracy is a good thing for America. Well, it’s been said that the epitome of democracy is a lynching: The guy at the end of the rope didn’t want to be hanged but when the votes were counted, he was outnumbered.

During the course of the past few years we have seen this “democratic” process played out over and over again. The schools needed repair and enough people were rounded up to win an election. The libraries needed more money and the troops were rallied again. And SOAR . . . .

The framers of our Constitution knew all about villagers storming out to slay the Frankenstein monster of the day. Having survived this, they established America as a republic, which is defined as “a system of government in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens who are eligible to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.”

Somewhere along the way, most notably around the Franklin Roosevelt era, the notion that America was a democracy began to set in. Many will argue that there is no difference, but one definitely exists. A democracy is “a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them rather than their representatives,” leaving the question of why even bother having elected officials in the type of government Roseann Mikos finds so great?

Perhaps the answer lies in seeking to hide the underlying anarchy (rule by nobody in particular) of a true democracy. This would explain why public service, once the domain of “statesmen,” has become the bastion of “legislators.” Unable to do anything other than oil the squeaky wheel of the day, “lawmakers” safely react to the winds of change, appease the villagers with a new, better law and wait for the next election.

Left to its own devices a democracy will appease those who “participated” on any given day but it will leave a lasting, sometimes unalterable impression on the rest that, over time, can prove to be destructive. The republican (not to be confused in any way with the GOP) form of governing served to protect the individuals from the anarchy of the excitable masses.

A lot of damage has been inflicted on our republic and, for all we know, it may be too late to salvage it. Still, if we wanted to try, a good place to start would be having the schools return to teaching budding citizens the difference. With enough people understanding what sets us apart from the old European fiefdoms, the courts might finally get the idea that the American way is worth standing up for.

BRUCE ROLAND, Ojai