tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19833734.post3593491228937364631..comments2024-02-22T19:21:40.330-05:00Comments on Muhlberger's World History: Phil Paine's Fifth Meditation On DemocracyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19833734.post-4916353563328435342010-03-31T14:22:18.984-04:002010-03-31T14:22:18.984-04:00Regarding Phil Paine's article....
Oh what a ...Regarding Phil Paine's article....<br /><br />Oh what a balancing act Canadians must have....democracy the good on one hand, and evil totalitarian aristocracy on the other. Without arguing this central point, I just did not "get" how democracy is automatically decent, and how aristocracy is automatically indecent. <br /> Pierre Burton said in the introduction to "Flames across the Border" that much to the discomfort of most Canadians, the fact remains that the greatest influence on Canadian laws, and culture was the US. That we sort of kept the best and discarded the rest, and a benign monarchy kept the best fresh. His point was also made in the TV series "The Wrong Empire". I'll quote here...from the narrative. You can google to get the rest. The Empire in question is of course, the British Empire, of which Canada is heir to. <br /> "It would be an empire of liberty, they thought, Britain writ large, sharing its bounty with the world.<br />So, how was it that in just over a century, the people that thought of themselves as the freest on earth ended up subjugating much of the world's population?<br />How was it that a nation which had such mistrust of military power ended up the biggest military power of all?<br />How was it that the empire of the Free became one of slaves?<br />How was it that profit seemed to turn not on freedom, but on raw coercion?<br />How was it that we ended up with the wrong empire?" <br /> Captain Napier in his voluminous dissertation about the Peninsular War stated that Napoleon had to "take up the sceptre" to allow the people to truly have a say in their destiny. That the only way they could have democracy is for him to become a monarch. (http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofwarinpe00napi#page/10/mode/2up)<br /><br />So, I can see this being a never ending source of tavern arguement. <br /> Thank you Steve for posting Phil Paine's excellent not-quite rant. He is remarkably easier to read than Thomas Paine!<br /><br />Now I shall follow the links and find the rest. <br />Regards.<br />Bill<br />http://southtowerarmouringguild.blogspot.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680700783923382336noreply@blogger.com