tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18369530.post113257951659302482..comments2023-06-29T13:25:30.567+02:00Comments on The Editrix' Roncesvalles: Back to the Prussian three-class system of voting!The_Editrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07529769143608862966noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18369530.post-1132730605045469182005-11-23T08:23:00.000+01:002005-11-23T08:23:00.000+01:00Yes, it certainly does seem logical. The "dumbing ...Yes, it certainly does seem logical. The "dumbing down" you made mention of in the political arena was said to be a means- however lofty and well-intentioned-of bringing in more citizens to play an active role in the political process. But the USA has seen the excruciatingly long electoral process become, instead, a marketer's forum alone and most people probably cast their votes based on looks and carefully-edited sound bites and "witty" slogans and that is the crux of the problem here. Maybe this is the result of our creating too many easy citizens without a strong sense of our history and our values<BR/><BR/>Voters should be those who have read and thought seriously enough about the candidates and the issues to not be so easily manipulated into voting for this crucial choice like they are chosing a box of Muesli for their morning meal from the corner grocer. A good candidate should appeal to the voter's sense of the future and that future is actively being formed today and the candidate must take the time to explain the importance of the issues. We always need leaders who have a sense of the days beyond tomorrow. And that is why Ronald Reagan was said to have been elected here-to reinforce the founding principles of freedom at home and abroad coupled with a commitment to free enterprise and that is why Angela Markel was elected chancellor in Germany- to attempt to bring Germany back to its economic period of very strong growth and more conservative values. <BR/><BR/>We always need leaders who are able to stand on principles and who don't seek to appeal to ephemeral and low-minded considerations. That remains the ideal but the process has become diluted by slick and silly slogans and slicker and sillier politicians.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18369530.post-1132689881653356432005-11-22T21:04:00.000+01:002005-11-22T21:04:00.000+01:00Allen, what a perceptive comment. I think it is Am...Allen, what a perceptive comment. <BR/><BR/>I think it is America's weakness and strength that they hardly ever understand the system of the three estates, which is only sketchily mirrored in Karl Marx' "class system". After all, the Estate System was one of the things in "Old Europe" the founding fathers wanted to escape. Imagine a society, which is not based on merit, not even on wealth (although wealth was usually part of the deal), but on birthright privileges only. Of course, the Prussian three-class-voting system was based on wealth (tax payment) too, a working merger of capitalism and the old <I>estate order</I>.<BR/><BR/>When I am rambling about the cheap, uneducated, populist stance that has replaced true "conviction" and knowledge, I am asking myself why, at least in this country, there has never been made an effort to educate the less fortunate, like the English did with scholarships at elite schools. No, "elite" has become a dirty word here. Instead, an entire education system and society has been dumbed down and power and influence thrown open to the cheapest common denominator and those with *elbows*.<BR/><BR/>Does that make sense?The_Editrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07529769143608862966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18369530.post-1132682208144827622005-11-22T18:56:00.000+01:002005-11-22T18:56:00.000+01:00Editrix, your comments here and elsewhere reveal t...Editrix, your comments here and elsewhere reveal the extreme double standards that the tiny Jewish state is held to against the "howling, jeering forces of barabarism" {such a poetic phrase from the British writer Derbyshire or is it truly Derbystein to remember a great blog posting from before !}<BR/><BR/>I am afraid this American doesn't fully grasp your reference to the three classes of Prussian voting but the context makes it plain that not all estates should hold equal sway in today's democratic system where too many of the functionaries are better suited-and in today's world perhaps better paid- to cleaning medical instruments or to performing paralegal functions {truly great imagery from a poet or should that be, in today's politically correct world, poetess or poetrix ?} and that is the problem as many are elected but too few are DESERVING to rise properly through the ranks. <BR/><BR/>As certain peers of Parliament might once have been fond of proclaiming, in high and august tones... "Hear, hear to the right, honourable member from North Umbria Stead South by way of Regal's Crossing beyond Hampshire Village...Such eloquent statements indeed !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com