Is our democracy up to the task?
Re: “Is our democracy up to the task? Economic, social challenges are mounting up,” Jan. 22 Perspective article.
Richard and Dottie Lamm raise important questions about the sustainability of our national debt, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the ecosystem – indeed, society as a whole. They even dare to question the god of economic growth in a world of finite resources. However, they miss a huge elephant in the room: military spending.
Our current military budget (which does not even include much of what is being spent in Iraq) is around $450 billion a year. This is almost double the combined military spending of the next six largest militaries in the world, most of whom are allies, not enemies. Now that’s the kind of spending that is unsustainable, not to mention morally questionable.
When all you have is a hammer, it’s easy to see all problems as nails. Witness Iraq. Instead of a being a world leader in finding alternatives, we continue as the main cog in the never-ending cycle of violence that will eventually spiral nuclear. Witness Iran. It’s hard to have the world’s largest pile of nuclear bombs and tell them they can’t have one. Our national discourse must also address our god of fear and our corresponding military madness.
Larry Leaman-Miller, Denver
…
Is our democracy up to the task? The answer is no. In addition to John Adams, whom Richard and Dottie Lamm quoted, many other notables including George Washington, James Madison, Benjamin Disraeli and Benjamin Franklin knew it. Austrian economists know it and have known it for years. Contemporary Libertarian philosophers know it. Even I know it.
But perhaps a Scottish jurist and historian, Sir Alex Fraser Tytler, said it best, in 1801: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.”
James E. Kluttz, Highlands Ranch
…
Richard and Dottie Lamm’s column reminds me of a quote by Ben Franklin. When asked what kind of government we would have, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” The difference between republics and democracies is simple. Republics vote only on matters that are properly in the public domain. Democracies vote on anything they want to. That’s why democracies don’t last. They collapse in orgies of feeding at the public trough. So decisions like where to invest your retirement money (Social Security), whom you can marry, how to manage your land, how to educate your children, and what medicines you can use are private decisions that should not be subject to a public vote. But today we vote on these private decisions, so we’re going to hell, in style. What’s next? Voting on what’s for dinner?
David Aitken, Denver
…
Richard and Dottie Lamm cite numerous long-term threats to representative government, but they miss a critical short-term threat, to wit, the danger to our system when respected liberal intellectual members of the governing caste go over to the “dark side” and unite themselves with classic demagogues like Rep. Tom Tancredo in whipping up xenophobic hysteria over Mexican guest workers. The irony in that situation is that the Lamms decry government’s inability to realistically address issues while they themselves are part of the lobby that has prevented Congress from responding to President Bush’s somewhat flawed but fundamentally rational proposal for a formal guest-worker program.
Jack J. Woehr, Golden
…
I am a liberal Democrat and read Richard and Dottie Lamm’s article with heightened expectations of a usable solution to their initial questions. However, I became angry with the Lamms’ assertion that people drawing Social Security income as being “welfare queens.” I found myself wondering at which level of ignorance they got lost in. Like everyone else who worked for blue-collar wages all their lives, I had 7.5 percent of my wages taken off of the top. I worked hard and dangerous blue-collar jobs for wages (hourly), beginning with a summer job at age 16 in 1955, and continued having FICA taxes withheld from each and every paycheck for 51 years. The money I draw from Social Security is drawn from my account, accumulated over those 51 years of blue-collar jobs, and it is unlikely I or most others will survive long enough to consume all the funds in my Social Security account. This means I am living on my lifetime of investments, and am not on the public dole, as they so strongly suggest.
Michael F. Crowe, Aurora
…
Let’s hear it for the Lamms. Can we sustain our democracy? No, we can’t. We have it too good in this country and it won’t change until we have hard times forced upon us. What I really get a kick out of is people saying how important the “children” are and how they are our future. People are only worried about the short term and what they can get out of the system – let the next generation worry about it. The best thing to do would be to scrap the New Deal and apply that money to our debt.
Daniel Pratt, Lakewood
Football as a religion
Re: “O come, all ye faithful; Fans bear witness to gridiron gospel,” Jan. 22 news story.
Eric Gorski’s Sunday front-page article was both insightful and timely. Not only did Gorski obviously do his academic homework on the relationship between sports and religion, but he also quoted several knowledgeable researchers in the area of religion and popular culture as well as local Jewish and Christian religious leaders. I’m teaching a class titled Religion and Popular Culture at the University of Denver right now and we’re reading the work of Joseph Price, one of the scholars Gorski mentions. It’s good to know that my students can open our city paper and supplement their classroom learning with erudite and accessible pieces like Gorski’s.
Dan Clanton, Englewood
…
The coverage given by this newspaper to such an irrelevant activity as last Sunday’s Broncos game is absurd. I realize football is big business, but to worship the players, the coaches and the game, as so many nincompoops do, is just another example of our society not having a clue. I would like to see as much coverage given to the illegal immigration problem, drunken-driving deaths and injuries, and abused children.
One glance through the so-called “sports” section helps me to understand why our young men are so focused on machismo, power and “athletics” rather than true sportsmanship or (yikes) education. Looks to me like most coaches/players are overpaid, overworshipped and are a mean-spirited, spoiled, angry, egotistical bunch of overgrown boys. Why not dedicate an entire page a day to the fine young people who excel at academics?
Frank Krosnicki, Loveland
Bush and Winston Churchill
Re: “America’s terrorist threat,” Jan. 22 Open Forum.
Letter-writer Dee Laird opined that President Bush is “the closest thing America has to Churchill,” as evidenced by his handling of the war on terror. Bush does indeed resemble a major figure from World War II, but not Winston Churchill. I share a quote from this person to illustrate my point:
“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.”
That is a quote from Hermann Goering around the time of the Nuremberg Trials. A much closer match than Churchill, wouldn’t you agree?
Patricia Lewis, Westminster
…
Saying that the statesmanship of George W. Bush in the “War On Terror” (fought in Iraq?) can be likened to the statesmanship of Winston Churchill during World War II is like saying a giraffe really does resemble a bowling ball.
Mark Kness, Boulder
The cost of staying warm
Re: “Rise in temps means drop in bills,” Jan. 22 business news story.
Steve Raabe’s article on heating bills highlights two ideas to which we all need to pay close attention. First, despite a warm January, record energy bills are a harsh burden on low-income citizens, and a difficulty for everyone else. Second, while we may have dodged the worst because of mild January temperatures, we’re not prepared for worst-case situations in the future.
With natural gas becoming more difficult to find, and record amounts of it being used for electricity production, we can expect more price hikes in the future. We can’t “produce our way” out of these challenges forever, but we can save money by becoming far more efficient in our use of energy, and substituting cost-effective renewables for natural gas whenever possible. Natural gas is still 47 percent more expensive this year than last. It could easily have been more than twice last year’s price – and may yet be in years to come.
We badly need a Public Utilities Commission that endorses aggressive efficiency measures and renewable energy, and a governor who empathizes with all Coloradans on this problem rather than only with the fossil-fuel industry.
Eric Johnson, Boulder
Problems with educating
Re: “A river of entitlement,” Jan. 22 Colorado Voices column.
Mark Moe’s commentary is an excellent description of our culture that “is no friend of education or intellectualism.” He concludes if we want to improve the situation, we need to pay our teachers better. I agree, but I think he missed other important factors. Our culture not only devalues education, it also devalues government service and social activism. Efforts to privatize many facets of government and basic education are examples of this. The costs of higher education, like health care costs, are becoming out of reach for many people.
As the wealthiest nation in the world and the “land of liberty,” we should measure social progress on what we do to improve the lives of all people and continue to ask ourselves, as Moe puts it, how long we can wait until we “buck the flow of a beguiling but ultimately destructive popular culture.”
Timothy D. Allport, Littleton
…
Mark Moe addresses some of the problems in schools today and then sums up his article by saying teachers need to be better paid – as if that is going to solve all of the problems. I do agree with him that teachers are underpaid. Why anyone would even consider that career is beyond me. However, I will never vote for another cent to be spent on public education until there are major changes within the system. Enact and enforce a dress code, rules of conduct, prohibit cellphones, iPods and such devices. Discipline students who break the rules. When students who are out of line can get “popped” again and parents can’t sue the school district, you can ask me for more money and I will be glad to give it.
Roy Wilson, Thornton
Sacrificing for children
Re: “Parenthood vs. careers: What about equality?” Jan. 22 Open Forum.
As a mother of three young children who also has a Ph.D., I have read with interest the letters regarding motherhood and careers. The one issue that is ignored is that being a parent requires constant sacrifice by both a mother and a father. I stay home with my children because I feel it is the best for our family and my children thrive in such an environment. My friends who work outside the home also have children who thrive equally as well. Why? Because both of those parents are constantly sacrificing aspects of their careers, their personal time and their energy for their children.
That is why the article about the two parents who are both partners at a law firm grates on so many moms, both stay-at-home and working ones. For many of us, it’s not an issue of working vs. not working, but about two parents not getting it that both of their jobs are not necessary to the well-being of their family. Both of these individuals have extremely demanding jobs that require massive amounts of time and energy. It is this group of parents that many people object to because there is no mention in the article of either parents sacrificing themselves for the betterment of their children.
There are many families that require two incomes and single moms who work harder than any of us to make their families work. I salute those parents, as well as the stay-at-home parents who are constantly strategizing new ways to better their children’s lives. Time is what our children want, not the advancement of two parents’ careers.
Joan Munson, Superior
TO THE POINT: Short takes from readers
Colorado needs a moderate governor, and John Hickenlooper fits the bill. We need a fiscal-minded, everyday kind of guy to run this state’s budget. I say this even after getting a parking ticket today in downtown Denver.
Elizabeth Maslow, Denver
Thank you for your report on the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into Qwest’s alleged sharing of customer information with NSA spies. And we thought giving phone numbers to telemarketers was bad. Qwest can ill-afford a class action lawsuit from affected customers.
Frank Ohrtman, Denver
So our state government is going to ban smoking. What’s next? The obesity police? The alcohol police? The junk food police? The you-must-exercise police?
Frank Haskett, Centennial
All Denver drivers should band together and boycott the E-470 toll system and bankrupt it. Maybe it will resurrect into a road affordable and useful to all Denver drivers.
Jim Lunden, Parker
When George Bush says his domestic spying is OK because it’s useful in the war against terror, what he’s really saying is, “It’s OK for me to cheat because then I have a better chance of winning.” Whatever’s easy, right?
S.P. Williams, Lakewood
The term “homophobia” is a gross misnomer. A more accurate term is “heterophilia.” Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?
Gordon J. Johnson, Broomfield
To have your comments printed in To the Point, please send letters of no more than 40 words to openforum@denverpost.com (no attachments, please) or 1560 Broadway, Denver, 80202. Writers are limited to one letter per month.
TO REACH OPINION EDITORS
Phone: 303-820-1331
Fax: 303-820-1502
E-mail: openforum@denverpost.com (only straight text, not attachments)
Mail: The Open Forum, The Denver Post, 1560 Broadway, Denver, 80202 or PO Box 1709, Denver, 80201
Letters guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 200 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.
