Choice and Democracy

How Large Organizations Suck You Away from Democracy

On this day, when we celebrate our freedoms, paid for with the lives of so many, the coercion against democracy, the ever-increasing erosion of democracy and the free enterprise system continues, and you are part of it. You are, I fact choosing it. And while you may think that by choosing it you are exercising a democratic right, perhaps it is different than that. There is no doubt that democracy *means* free enterprise, right? If you live in a democracy, we have free enterprise. This is normal. We take it for granted; we think it’s “just there”. We also think that our right to choose is just there. But is it?
We like to think that as adults we are mature in thinking, think deeply about things, and try to do the right thing. Or things. So how can your choice be taken away? How can you be actually “choosing’ to leave your democratic/free enterprise system while at the same time proclaiming the symbolism of Remembrance Day (being freedom and democracy), and loudly (sometimes) proclaiming that our system is better than others because we are “free”? Just how free are you, when it comes to making decisions about money, in our democratic/free enterprise system? Our free enterprise system, by the way, is based on the freedom to start and to have a business, and our democracy allows for anyone to do that (based on fair competition).
Still with me? We all know the above. So do our governments, at all levels (federal, provincial, municipal and town). Big business knows it. Advertisers know it. Other types of government know it (socialist, communist, etc.). And a variety of agencies, too. Whether it’s a political or corporate entity, they all use research (polls, psychology, studies) to determine how to achieve their goals, wishes and aims. They know us. They know the consumer. In governance, they know, (or think they know), and how to govern us. We wouldn’t have the need for political science, anthropologists, psychologists or sociologists otherwise. (lol). We, or rather they, need to understand humans and how to use that understanding.
So how is it that you can’t refuse a good sales pitch? (even tho’ you might have some inner qualms about it?).How come you can’t (or is it won’t) refuse a low low price on something, even tho’ your innards are thinking there might be something wrong with it?
We aren’t the poorest country, province or county in the world. We are one of the richest nations. Most of us, in Digby County, are not cooking our meals over open fires on the street as our only way of cooking or obtaining heat. We “choose” to BBQ in the summer. We “choose” to sit around a camp fire and toast marshmallow or warm our hands. And this is one of my points: “It’s the POOR who don’t have choices, right? They “have to” choose the lowest cost of doing anything, the lowest price from food to transportation. They’re the ones whose choices are severely limited.
If you are above the poverty line, do you have other choices? Can you make other choices than what’s the cheapest? Can you make another choice other than what’s the bottom line? Can you make another choice if your innards are not sure that it’s the right thing to do?
Why is it that there is a “wealthy” (not below the poverty line) person at the food bank? A neighbour accepting $500. a month not to tell a next door neighbour that a huge, destructive development will be taking place right next to him? An area where the standard of living is 10, 000 times over Biafra’s taking “donations” to the area’s clubs, societies, receipts of ball caps and T Shirts, for an activity that may cause others to lose their homes or may hurt the wildlife or even remove the landscape and affect quality of life? Don’t these same people or entities already enjoy quality of life? And it is usually the bigger organization, political structures, or bigger businesses that are “bribing” you to do what your innards are telling you isn’t right.
They are removing your choice by offering you something. They know that you, in your income bracket, which is not the lowest, will not refuse a “donations”, a “gift”, or a lower price.
Hence, we get the millionaires scrimping on things, billionaires low-paying their employees, the wealthy outfitting their enterprises from second-hand stores. Others using services really just meant for the poor. We are not that poor, you know. But it is not just the “wealthy”. Those who can well afford it, or are not below the poverty level are sucked way past principles, and incidentally, out of their choice, by a buck-or two.
You can get sucked into what current demonstrators would call corporate greed, by accepting a donation to your favourite cause. You don’t want to admit that it means you’ve been sucked into “theirs*. For example, accepting a “gift”, or donation from a fast food joint for placing their logo on the playground. You’ve also, now by popular opinion, contributed to the highest rates of obesity, heart disease and illness this society has had EVER. Not only your kids, but your friends’ kids. Some people were “sold” by political and corporate agencies to put wind turbines in a sensitive ecological and pristine nature areas, clear cutting the forest and hillsides to do it, removing the vegetation that controls run-off, and provides the oxygen that humans need to breathe; taking way the homes and habitats of may wild creatures, putting spinning blades in the air on the migratory bird flyway of many visiting and rare bird species, and obliterating the landscape, which provides quality of life to humans and other species, and flies in the face of a now global phrase, altho’ you may not have heard it before: “landscape conservation”, which is now recognized as needed, and valuable, as this world resource is diminishing rapidly and yet contributes so much to our lives and the animal/plant kingdom. If you think well we’re only one small area, then you are conveniently missing the point-the bigger picture. The world cannot sustain these on-going, increasing, and cumulative onslaughts.
Moving on: doesn’t the world seem to be going towards bigger and bigger “entities”? And do you know why you don’t plant a lawn full of Kentucky bluegrass only? Hopefully you’ll see the connection soon. You don’t plant a lawn full of one species or one variety of grass only. Why? Because if the one species (or monoculture, which you’ve created) of grass get a disease, your whole lawn is destroyed.
Yet farm operations are huge operations now. Some now are controlled by larger corporations such as Monsanto. Even seeds now are controlled by about 3 huge entities. I’m not saying that they did this, but if farmers were sucked into an offer by some of these big “daddies”, then their “no choice” choice as the larger entities counted on, has led to the farmers having no choice at all, from seeds to crop, and us having no choice about what we eat-genetically modified plants, seeds and all. Even the seeds are owned by only a very small number of companies. Maybe it’s true, but it’s counted on, that you will have no choice but to accept the offer.
The bigger entities’ (government or big enterprises) premise is that the general population will always take an offer of money or a lower price for something. And then you’re in *their* pocket, hooked into their agenda of corporate greed, or for the purpose of creating a monopoly-for control and money, for power and ego. But remember the lawn?
What ever happened, and what’s happening to the little guy? It’s the little guys who will prevent the “monoculture” or lawn disaster. Are you starting to understand what I’m saying?
Back to politics: free enterprise, which goes along with our democratic system, is base on any number of people who want to start a business, being free to do so, and trying to exist in fair competition with other (small) businesses, and according to all that market mumbo jumbo. Far right socialism or communism is the opposite .Everything is owned and run by the State (or province?). It tries to gobble everything unto itself, eliminating small business, and much of what we call “free will”, our freedoms and our choices. The “offer” to you, to make you accept this, is a lower price for things or some things. “The STATE” or the province, with your money, of course, will subsidize this .Or that. You become part of the State and are controlled by it, just like, for example the big cold land in the north of Europe. Which we, in our democracies hated. We fought wars against governments like that one. Millions of people over the world died for democracy and our freedoms. On this November the11th, 2011, how would you say we are doing?
You may not this a fair parallel, but on Wednesday night, there was a meeting, in which the President of particular operation proudly proclaimed that “WE (his type of operation) have taken over most of Nova Scotia. There’s only one slice left”.
People, caught up in the glossy performance production of promo, in which no discussion was allowed except for 2 questions), almost clapped for him. Imagine.
His operation is subsidized. A lower price. If you don’t “get” this, and the bigger picture, I’m almost sorry you’ve read this far. It’s been a long read, I know.
Yesterday, someone whom I can’t find the right descriptor for….an emissary (political) or agent of his), came to me, professing of potential “offers’ soon to come. The implication was “if only I would agree…”.
What do you think folks? What should I do? What should *you* do?

As always, my opinion (without predudice), the Blogger.