Democracy needs to give us more...

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As I was reading an article by Natalie Wolchover, branded People Aren't Smart Enough for Democracy to Flourish, Scientists Say, it surely got my ‘pistons’ ticking and rumbling like a bomb. It purely covered the essentials, which most people seem to dread to pronounce or put pen to paper about.

‘Democracy is stupid and superfluous in a totalitarian state.’

 Do you remember those words? Probably you do, unambiguously from the infamous Austrian-born German leader who used to run that part of the world from 1934 to 1945, under a protracted wing and unsympathetic branch of the Nazis. Apparently it seems he believed he knew better than the majority of the people in his days. He believed his policies were on point, and farcically liberated himself on any defects that his ideas might have had. Who am I to judge? The better part of the world has not even healed from Hitler’s diabolic deeds, even today. They were probably the worst 11 years any country could ever go through. He can never be acquitted from the cost that his political ideas brought unto Germany, and many other countries in Europe. He never kept his word, and all the promises he had made to the people simply went down the drain, entangled with their optimism to see a better nation under his rule.

 Natalie notes that through research, scientists have sufficient understanding to wrap up that “people are inherently unable to judge the competence of other people, or the quality of those people's ideas.” (David Dunning via http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com)

 Simply put, their argument purports that the general public usually lacks the ability to make profound judgement on what their political leaders need to be, represent and what kind of persona or intrinsic worth they should uphold. Considering the majority of people who are not well-versed with political idiolect, the populace is usually left in the dark in terms of what is going on. All they have is a picture of the candidate, with a few words from their campaign speech clinging to their minds like a vast bandage of adhesive.

 "If you have gaps in your knowledge in a given area, then you’re not in a position to assess your own gaps or the gaps of others" (David Dunning via http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com).

 After chatting to a few friends, they started to give a few ideas of their own. “Take ‘democracy’ with a pinch of salt,” one had to say. She argues that this ‘perfect’ society that democracy stands for is simply far-fetched and people in the world continue to think they subsist in ‘free and fair’ political systems but they are not. Is democracy facilitating peace and harmony around the world like it is suppose to? Certainly a question that many people may never find an answer to.

“Strangely though, in these experiments, people tend to readily and accurately agree on who the worst performers are, while failing to recognize the best performers,” says Dunning, as they continue with their research. Who is the top performer, and who is not, I ask? How do you tell the difference between the two, simultaneously taking note of your own ‘knowledge gap’? How do you judge if a leader is good or not? Do we simply rely on what we see on campaign posters, TV and what we hear on their forums on different mediums?

“The most incompetent among us serve as canaries in the coal mine signifying a larger quandary in the concept of democracy; truly ignorant people may be the worst judges of candidates and ideas,” Dunning said, “but we all suffer from a degree of blindness stemming from our own personal lack of expertise.” (David Dunning via http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com)

I should say the above pronouncement unreservedly sums it up for me. Take the ‘World Giants’ for example. Do they really recognise their own misfortunes before setting judgement on the shortfalls of other countries? Bring it closer to home and think about it. Are our leaders entering into affirmative and prolific discourse that will not leave numerous stones unturned? Surely there has to be a way to undo this mess.

Trust me, I wish things were easy in life, like it is for some people. If only I could ‘chill’, and hurl my aching feet onto the top of this desk because they having been working since first light. Maybe I could grab a ‘Cuban’ and leisurely ‘puff’ my woes away and throwback, extrapolating a better day ahead.

 For me, this is just an abysmal dream. My mind can never afford me the satisfaction of such a luxury. It is too inquisitive, and probably will never stop ticking until an answer has been found, or when I finally lay in that cold box when ‘dear life’ has finally vacated my heart and lungs.

Never let your ‘mental capabilities’ down. Like they say, “An idle mind is the devils workshop.”

 Till next time folks...be vigilant in all you do!