I recently saw that the ACLU remark that "democracy was messy" and (paraphrased) we should be ready to make it a bit messier in countering policies/actions that we might not like. While looking for the source of this quote, I found that this is not a new message for the ACLU. They have occasionally made this remark: They are not the only ones:
The "Democracy is messy" (you need to break some eggs to make an omelet) trope is a bit dangerous however for Americans do not seem to like messy. Nor do many other citizens within democracy for that matter. Rather, most people like some degree of order, certainty and calm.
Now, before I get misquoted/misunderstood, I think preparing folks for some "messiness" is a good thing. By this I mean conflict/contentious politics/disagreement/discussion/back and forth. It is better to prompt reasonable expectations about what could take place. I'm thinking we need to get Schoolhouse Rock! back together to create some video for it (can you see it: "Protest is the Magic Action", "Ready or Not, Here WE Come" and "I'm Just an Indictment"). This said, we must be leery of the population that would be put off (or on) by such rhetoric.
As discussed in my Domestic Democratic Peace book, political repression (i.e., restrictions on civil liberties like limitations on speech/association as well as personal integrity violations like arrest/torture) is generally diminished by political democracy UNLESS there is some threat in the relevant nation-state. Under these circumstances, repressive behavior is likely to go up in part because the citizens are not believed to object to such a thing. In fact, they are likely to support it. Invoking the "messiness" of democracy, I would argue, plays to this phenomenon and should therefore be used carefully if at all.
Actually, I would suggest that democracy is not messy. It is beautiful. For example, many tend to think of America under President Trump as some hierarchically structured system where the different parts of the political system line up underneath the President (this is symbolized by the 5 gold christmas balls below - who doesn't love christmas, right?).
Now, before I get misquoted/misunderstood, I think preparing folks for some "messiness" is a good thing. By this I mean conflict/contentious politics/disagreement/discussion/back and forth. It is better to prompt reasonable expectations about what could take place. I'm thinking we need to get Schoolhouse Rock! back together to create some video for it (can you see it: "Protest is the Magic Action", "Ready or Not, Here WE Come" and "I'm Just an Indictment"). This said, we must be leery of the population that would be put off (or on) by such rhetoric.
As discussed in my Domestic Democratic Peace book, political repression (i.e., restrictions on civil liberties like limitations on speech/association as well as personal integrity violations like arrest/torture) is generally diminished by political democracy UNLESS there is some threat in the relevant nation-state. Under these circumstances, repressive behavior is likely to go up in part because the citizens are not believed to object to such a thing. In fact, they are likely to support it. Invoking the "messiness" of democracy, I would argue, plays to this phenomenon and should therefore be used carefully if at all.
Actually, I would suggest that democracy is not messy. It is beautiful. For example, many tend to think of America under President Trump as some hierarchically structured system where the different parts of the political system line up underneath the President (this is symbolized by the 5 gold christmas balls below - who doesn't love christmas, right?).
In the conventional view, the President runs the government and all the other sections come in line - following the initiative of the leader. Here, the President basically answers to no one and they gloriously do what they wish as depicted in the famous Charlie Chaplin scene below (perhaps one of the best scenes in film ever):
Clearly, this has not been the case. Actually, what we are seeing is something more like the image below with the various parts of democracy lining up next to one another:
This is democracy at its finest - not messiest, mind you, but most beautiful. In this context, we see that if one ball of the democracy (the executive for example) attempts to move upward/downward in a direction that is not believed to be favored by others (e.g., putting forward a ban on travelers coming into the US), then another ball of the democracy (e.g., a federal or state court, the media or the citizenry) kicks in to respond to the offensive behavior (respectively with a ruling, an article or a protest).
Of course, the executive in the example might try again and another part of the democracy might yet again step up but this is when/where the other balls can start responding.
Of course, the executive in the example might try again and another part of the democracy might yet again step up but this is when/where the other balls can start responding.
What is interesting about the vid is that for the one section where the one ball is bouncing by itself it just seems kind of lonely, out of sync and a bit sad. Stay beautiful democracy!
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