Pedro Lilienfeld

In light of the current state of affairs in the U.S. I find it relevant to reflect on the the cast of characters occupying the reins of government in Washington. Two authoritative polemicists, separated by a mere twenty four centuries, have warned us about what we are enduring. I find it worth citing their thoughts.

H. L. Mencken:

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

“Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard”.

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, and intolerable…”.

Socrates:

“The crook and the wicked shall desire to rule. And democracy shall grant them important positions within the Republic. And when finally the crook and the wicked are elected democratically, there shall be worse tyranny than has been during any monarchy or oligarchy”.

What would have opined Socrates or Mencken about our present “democratic” government headed by the likes of Trump and his cabal of sycophantic kakistocrats? In an essay, I penned when the results of the 2024 presidential election became known, I wrote:

“My dark assessment of the rot that permeates this country is now enshrined. If anything, this putrefaction is deeper and wider than what I had implied in my writing above. The enthroning of Trump in 2016 could be attributed, in part, to an insufficient understanding of his defects. No such excuses can be proffered today. The people of this country are either fully aware of the miscreant they have elected or, are in denial. Either constitutes an indictment of the majority of Americans. My final assessment is that those of us who are horrified by this development must now face the fact that we are surrounded by no fewer than 77 million morons”.

So, What is the corollary to these thoughts? Democracy as generally defined implies the rule of the plebs. If that voting plebs is educated and enlightened, we can expect to be governed by an enlightened elite.

Alternatively, we will sink to the lowest common denominator. And here is another Ancient Greek to warn us about the effects of such bad stewardship:

Thucydides:

“Some legislators only wish to vengeance against a particular enemy. Others only look out for themselves. They devote very little time on the consideration of any public issue. They think that no harm will come from their neglect. They act as if it is always the business of somebody else to look after this or that. When this selfish notion is entertained by all, the commonwealth slowly begins to decay.”

“The strong do what they have to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.”

“I am not blaming those who are resolved to rule, only those who show an even greater readiness to submit.”