The will of the people is paramount in the political philosophy known as democracy….is that about right? Maybe in its original form back in the day when Greeks were the dominate force in the world of logical thought….but if you believe that in today’s world…..then I have some land in Florida I want to sell you….if you do not like that…then there is a bridge for sale……
Do you remember the French protests?
The boisterous and even jubilant mood at earlier demonstrations gave way to a morose atmosphere in Paris, as new signs of discord emerged in the union ranks, who have protested the measure since September.The marches led by labor unions are the eighth of their kind since early September aimed to derail Sarkozy’s efforts to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 in order to salvage a money-losing pension system.
Police said 375,000 had turned out nationwide, down from 560,000 that hit the streets on Oct. 28. More than a million took to the streets at a protest in late September, according to the police.
The millions protested turned to violence and many were injured or arrested in the protests….the people took to the streets to voice their disapproval of the retirement proposal…..civil disobedience at its best….and the people wanted their voices to be heard…is that not what democracy is all about?
And here is what all their protests earned for the people of France…
French President Nicolas Sarkozy ‘s reform raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 became law Wednesday, a victory for the conservative government and a defeat for unions that waged massive strikes and street protests to try to capsize the plan.The French reform means that the minimum retirement age is now 62 instead of 60. Those who want to claim full-fledged pension benefits must now wait until age 67 instead of 65.
Living proof of how democracy really works….in case you are confused…it does NOT work the way you think it does!
Now here we disagree. Yes, I like the fact that the French will take to the streets and protest and yes it has often worked in the past and, annoying though it may be to travellers and so on, it’s good that the people do actually have a voice and will use it…
BIUT (there you go) the French (like the UK, but even worse) have been CONTROLLED for many years by the unions. It (again like the UK) has been MUCH better to be sacked from a job than to continue doing it – nearly as profitable and without travelling etc expenses, employers can do little to get rid of a bad employee however awful they are and it’s VERY expensive (that is the same in Spain). The truth is that a whole lot of people WILL WITHOUT QUESTION be lazy assholes IF YOU GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY!!! That is, to my mind their right, if they want to be that way, but the country – ANY country – MUST NOT pay for them to be that way – NOT A PENNY. The result of doing that is absolutely DISASTROUS!
The belief that people are basically good is a pure fantasy that is only true of SOME. People are basically mostly good, or they are mostly bad and few leopards change their spots. I’d personally guess that about 5%-10% are very good, another maybe 50%-55% are pretty good most of the time and something like 35-40% are just assholes if you don’t actively stop them.
Sadly, though, the assholes occupy mainly BOTH ends of the economic spectrum, but if we do NOT resist them with every fibre of our beings, they WILL effectively enslave all of the rest of us.
In my view it’s that bad, or potentially so, and the French have struggled for years with that 35%-40% because they let them get the upper hand…
If you live in a closed communist society, then fine, but if you want the relative freedom of democracy and capitalism (I don’t believe you can currently have one without the other) then you HAVE to stop the assholes from taking over the whole goddamned joint and that means both the rich and the poor. CONTRIBUTE something WORTHWHILE or paddle your own canoe and go without.
My point was that the people, well a majority anyway, were against the raise and they did it anyway….
That’s not how I read it. However, when was the last time these guys actually did what the people REALLY wanted? Are you that old? Can you remember that far back?
Sorry about that…..see what happens when I try to write before coffee…in coherent…..LOL. I was thinking about all the protests and opposition and yet Sarkozy and his band of thugs did it anyway……yes I am OLD….but come to think of it…I cannot remember it either….
Yeah, I know… However, the truth is that, in Europe at least, we have gone the other way and we simply cannot afford all these things “the people” want (that is the minority of vociferous assholes who think anyone with a couple of dollars more than them should pay to keep them). Nevertheless, they ARE a minority whatever it sounds like on TV.
Yes the workers should be protected from the worst excesses of the nastiest of the corporations, but NO that is not to say the rest of us should give a sh*t if they starve to death because they are too f*cking lazy or picky to do what jobs there are (and there are many – just not for roadsweepers working a 20 hour week with twelve weeks paid holiday and for a brain surgeon’s pay).
The tyranny of the so-called “working class” (many of whom don’t – want to work that is) is JUST as bad as the tyranny of the wealthy. Assholes all – at both ends of the financial spectrum.
People at both those two financial extremes are just not as honest as you and me, my friend – I only wish that were not so, but it is!