We in the West worship free democracy as the ideal, the ultimate in running a country. I have to say that it is the best we have, but I don't think it is without fault. I have been reading the newspapers and looking on the Internet thinking about the state of the nation and the world. Also reflecting a bit on history and how we got to be where we are.
Here is what I see as weakness in democracy. Often the true leadership needed for a country will need to make changes, stretch minds and world views to lead that society toward a more noble, wholesome and ideal community. Because of the human tendency to be unwilling to be stretched or changed, often in a democracy good leaders will be exchanged for popular leaders who will endorse the status quo or wind back the clock to that which is comfortable.
Let me illustrate. In the workplace we are often called to change and grow. Good managers will encourage professional development, experimentation, adaption and a general move toward excellence. Now it has been my experience that people often tend to be, at least initially, resistant to change. Often the only reason change happens is that we have no choice, the manager pays us, the manager is not appointed by us. I am sure that in many a workplace, if managers could get voted out by their workforce, i.e. if the workplace was a democracy, many good leaders and managers would be voted out because they are initially unpopular because of the changes they call for. I believe this happens in the church. Ministers in many denominations can be voted out. Any minister that wants to rock the boat, make changes is in fact risking his job. I believe the church often stagnates, is behind the times and loses good forward thinking leaders for this reason.
I think that in the history of democracy this is true also. In many countries, good leadership has been replaced by popular leadership and society has not progressed. In my view democracy needs to be supported by two things if it is to be effective in bringing real leadership to a society.
Education... the people who are doing the voting need to be equipped to THINK through the issues. Where education is just equipping to fulfil societal roles, it fails. It must give people the equipment that enables them to creatively, rationally tackle issues and not just react to them, if old well worn paths are being disturbed. Education has an important supporting role if democracy is to be effective.
Media with integrity... I suspect that in today's world the media have power to really "run the country" in the way they report issues and the priorities they have. They have incredible power. It is vital then that journalists and people in the media take their responsibility seriously. They are not just there for entertainment, but for information and to facilitate the discussion and awareness of the issues facing society. This is an incredible responsibility and requires real integrity.
Anyway those thoughts have been buzzing through my weird mind lately.
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