From my perspective, it is the United States that invented commercialism driven by marketing. It has been my experience that marketing has been the nexus to cultural displacement across many societies. As the leader in marketing, the United States has been extremely successful in marketing its brand of Democracy across the world as the model to follow.
Because of the successful marketing, questioning the US Democracy model often times ends up being an argument about there being no better alternative. The underlining problem is that the United States has been allowed to mold what a Democracy should be like. From a US perspective, all other models of Democracy are deficient. Yet, if one were to take a critical look at the US Democracy model, the model’s flaws become readily apparent.
Take, for example, the latest controversy over Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email account for government communication. The latest reports show that Clinton not only used a personal email account, outside of the purview of the citizens but also went so far as to manage her own personal email server.
As is common practice in politics, political operatives from all sides have hijacked the discussion taking it to areas that ignore the most basic problem. The issue being that any model of Democracy requires at its most basic governing principal that the citizens have a right to know what their government is doing.
Government cannot be held accountable when government operates in darkness.
The rhetoric around Hillary Clinton touches on this very basic requirement superficially while focusing on ancillary issues such as whether it was legal or whether other government officials operate the same way. These types of debates ignores the crux of the problem, instead focusing on issues that distract at best, and hides the inconvenient truth at worst.
The question that everyone, interested in a Democracy, should be asking is not whether Hillary Clinton violated the law, or whether Clinton is not the only politician keeping emails secret but rather the question should be why?
Why would any politician feel the need to manage their own email server instead of using those provided by the government, or rather the people being governed? Why did Hillary Clinton want to be in control of which public communications belong in the public realm and which do not?
This is the underlining question that citizens should be asking of Hillary Clinton.
Instead, what we are all witnessing are questions about whether it was legal, whether it was the standard or whether other politicians are doing this as well. These questions betray a simple inconvenient truth that the US public does not want the world to know.
The truth is that Hillary Clinton represents the culture of elitism that has been created in US politics. This culture represents a governing class that believes that they are endowed to govern the people of the United States, regardless of the ideal of a Democracy or the intent of the laws that are supposed to believe that transparency in government is the nexus to a true Democracy.
In essence, the United States has come back full circle to where it started from – a governing class that governs through divine intervention.
There has always been an elitism in politics on both sides. Most people ignore the fact Clinton is known by Barbara Bush as her wayward son. Bill Clinton has a good relationship with the Bushs. It was reported that after Bill and Hillary had become very personal snd critical of W, there was a phone call and the Clintons backed off the personal attacks and became less critical.
I believe what has happen with Hillary is that she become so arrogant because of her husbands popularity that she is suffering the swollen head syndrome. Happens to a lot of officials and most don’t recover until a scandal brings them down. The belief of invincibility then disappears. It’s ok to respect an official or the office, but when some place them on a pedestal. That’s the beginning of the arrogance.
Money creates power quicker than power creates money. So consequently the elite in both parties become the elite and determine our future. Even their staffs are selected on the basis of who is most agreeable or payment volunteer services rendered or a very useful idiot. The useful idiots do all the dirty work and protect the elite. Unfortunately the useful idiots don’t realize until it’s too late that they are disposable. There’s that elitism thinking process.
Look at our own local officials, they deveop a policy and if the public doesn’t agree, they find a way to implement the policy under the guise that they know what’s best. Invincibility enters the process quickly. The thoughts becomes the public will realize with time that it was a great idea. Or don’t worry, the public will become angry and eventually will forget. Or just throw them a piece, they’ll get happy.
Remember the arrogance of John Gotti, he felt that he was untouchable and entitled to special treatment. Think for a minute, why is it when you violate the law, there’s swift and tough enforcement. Yet, when an official does the same, justice is delayed, the legal system bends over backwards. Lady Justice lifts one side of the blind and winks. Reminds of an old but true story. There was a Colonel that was detained for shop lifting in the PX. No problem, he was considered a sick man. A couple of weeks later, an enlisted was detained for shop lifting. Well, he wasn’t sick, he was just a down and no good bum.
As for elitism, it comes in all areas of life. The politician, successful person, the famous athlete, the movie star, the beauty queen. How do they get there? WE put them in that category thru worshipping and forgiveness of things you normally would condem others.
She should talk with Steve Ortega about the public’s expectation of email transparency, as they both have yet to learn the lesson.
She will have some difficulty with Joe-the-Plumber explaining her $200K a pop speaking engagement fees to investment bankers.