Democratic Or Not. Poem by Michael Walker
Democratic Or Not.
-'Democracy is coming to the USA'. Leonard Cohen.
One social sciences class I taught did not want government;
they were already disillusioned with authority; they wanted anarchy,
a free state of individuals living withoutlaws.
It seemed they were trying to teach me something.
I listened to their arguments, which were radical
but persuasive and they spoke from the heart.
However, I kept voting every three years,
and once I knocked on doors forLabour.
At least in a democracy, the people elect leaders
unlike North Korea where Kim Jong Un-is an autocrat.
He succeeded his relatives Kim Dae Jung and Kim Jong Il.
Nevertheless by the new millennium 120 countries were democratic.
The American people directly elect the Congress and President,
voting for individuals not parties, unlike my country's mish-mash MMP.
France has a similar Constitution to America's;
It is faithful to the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
The Declaration is really about people anywhere anytime:
equality as citizens, free and fair elections, free speech
and equal distribution of wealth and property to all citizens.
The world owes these natural rights to the original democrat Pericles of Athens.
-27/28 January 2020.
Pericles, the ruler of Athens, was the first champion of democracy in the years when he ruled as strategos from 445 BC-429 BC, the year of his death.
MMP= Mixed Member Proportional. New Zealand took up this system in the 1990s, a radical break from the past. There are about 120 seats in parliament. Much less than half are constituency MPs, voted directly by the people. Many more than half are 'List MPs', chosen by political parties. The people vote for a local MP, and also for a party. The List MPs do not come in with a mandate from the people.
I find Leonard Cohen's song 'Democracy' quite stunning.
First, I would like to thank you for your Notes on dictatorship v/s democracy, practice of democracy in NZ or in ancient Greece. Despite mish-mash or manipulations, democracies remain the most favorite globally. Thanks for this poetic treat with a focus on different political systems.
You have analyzed the poem with insight and sensitivity. I agree that democracy is the best system of government around the globe. Dictators have often appeared in politics: Stalin in Russia; Adolf Hitler; and the family of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un in North Korea. All three had some good points, though, and Kim Jong Un looks friendly, smiling and charming in some photos. Saddam Hussein also springs to mind.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
5/13/2024 4:36:43 PM # 1.0.0.1119
beautiful expression and writings on Democracy. Yeah rightly said the song Democracy by Leonard Cohen is also beautiful to realize the democracy. But still I'm raw or damaged brain holder about this word! Very impressive the system but very sensitive if anyone handle it inappropriately! In politics it has varieties impact. Sometimes bad something it brings because democracy has wide range where free sense, free mind, free will falls in the blunder well through illusion! ! !