“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. A democratic republic is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” anon

That metaphor works well with the first lamb as the vulnerable elements of society, the wolves the harsh social elements of the world and the conniving ones, while the well armed lamb is our democratic republic using the constitution, bill of rights and the laws of the USA to make space for our super power, cooperation, which makes human progress possible.

Our Founders had a problem in 1776. They knew that they needed to escape from English dominance, the king and arbitrary but costly laws and they wanted to break with the past ideas that had not allowed thoughtful well intentioned people to rule themselves. That was difficult by itself but they also needed the southern states to join them and their economy was based on domination rather than free enterprise, though slavery was everywhere in the colonies.

And our founders knew the risks, as John Adams said in 1807:

“Democracy, will soon degenerate into an anarchy, such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes, and no man’s life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure and every one of these will soon mold itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues, and intellectual abilities, all the powers of wealth, beauty, wit, and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the execrable cruelty of one or a very few.”

All the leaders knew in their time that the new government was dependent on vital elements not degenerating, hence the complicated government they left us.

Fast forward 150 years to the time we were most secure economically and militarily and the chief justice of the supreme court said:

A republic is not an easy form of government to live under, and when the responsibility of citizenship is evaded, democracy decays and authoritarianism takes over. — 
Earl Warren

and from Elanor Roosevelt, this:

“In the final analysis, a democratic government represents the sum total of the courage and the integrity of its individuals. It cannot be better than they are.”

In our time thousands of people make their living attacking not just the participants but the system itself and the media, our mirror of reality caters to advertiser dollars, not social value, not quality of information.

It is likely then that our work is never done. Oligarchs and would-be-kings, are constantly mounting attacks on whatever order there is.

Keeping a Democratic Republic working is a full time thing, otherwise it may not be there when we need it.

That means voting, staying informed, going to community meetings, visiting local and DC power centers to understand how government works. If you do you will never think of trusting someone else to take care of it.

So here are some resources to start with.

Make it fun, go with friends, but participate.

https://weeklyactionrva.org/

https://www.rvaengage.org/events

https://www.actsrva.org/

https://indivisible.org/

https://www.riscrichmond.org/how_risc_works

https://www.rvacommunityfridges.com/

https://vacommunityvoice.org/

Or do your own search using a search like “rva community

Take it away!

On “Literature Aloud” Monday-Thursday @ 4pm only on WRWK

Ironically, I’ll be using this voice-to-text AI to express my serious reservations about AI and about our collective digital privacy in a time of decreased regulation and increased policing.

Unfortunately, after centuries of successful (if laborious and messy) democracy, there seems to be a a strange turn to authoritarianism around the world, and in many places a tyranny lobbied, and paid for by billionaires.

In this context AI seems particularly menacing, and rather than being the panacea or taking on a will of its own it is most likely to be used by those who would dictate our submission to their insatiable greed. And as we have grown so fond of our phones, most of us barely able to put them down, it will be an easy task to monitor and control us.

Nevertheless, I remain hopeful …

To those volunteers who joined us on the courthouse lawn on Hull street (and to those who have served for years) TheWorkFM says…

Few words capture the kind of human progress that got us to 2025 like the Fword.

The middle finger comes close but is just one nuance of the irresistible human passions that got us to this moment .

Love, promise, string along and betray. That’s politics in a decaying nation. But we cannot break the cycle by F*ing those who got us here. We have to Break their Spell with a Bigger Spell. Maybe the one that got Humans to believe in the 250 year old experiment in human self management: the USA. Was it fear of the French Revolution, the pomposity of King George or pursing something better and still possible, something at least we had the words for. Something aspirational.

We are in the last chapter of the American experiment where democracy was dangled before us but always kept out of reach by ever clever distractions. Now power brokers hope to use social media and AI to stuff us all into their designer cult woven out of popular myths. Not unlike the Romans did by building temples to all the gods of the captured populations. After all it has been working.

But in the end Mother nature will have its way and discipline us all. The only question is how many innocent people and other life forms will pay for the lies of grifters who keep the dead end system going?

Some people, reflecting on the countless hours spent on their care choose to pay it ahead.

Some choose to remain children, denying their agency and their cost to the world. Pity to die unaware of ones meaning.

In RVA, Let’s look for the possible, the Something More that distinguishes us from chimpanzees with language and clothes.

Let’s un-F* the world, one aware person at a time and restore the cooperative system that made all these neat things we have possible, and this time lets leave space for the other people and life forms that were here when we arrived.

Cooperation is our super power. Let’s joyfully push back on all the dehumanizing crap at every level.

Be angry if it helps but don’t get lost it. That’s their game.

Life should be full of joy, but we have to create it.

Let’s!

If you understand the dangerous times we are in and you want to cut through the corporate crap and political disinformation, TheWorkFM is here for you! We’re a skeleton crew on a shoestring budget and your contribution can help us to survive to provide INDEPENDENT, INFORMATIVE, CREDIBLE news and talk in this time of national crisis. Please donate today by clicking “Support WRWK” in red on the left side menu – THANKS!

The un-checked, unaccountable leader and the gullible, bootlicking pseudo-patriot are two sides of the same disfigured counterfeit coin.
Both are radically un-American.

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