Friday, May 31, 2013

The 'power' of government is at the Top, but the 'condition of togetherness' is at the Bottom. It becomes necessary to clarify the 'condition of togetherness'. It seems that most of what we read about in newspaper articles relates to the power of government and politics. Of course, that is important because it creates a record of the powerful forces at work within the social. Nevertheless, the essence of government are the People in a 'condition of togetherness', and who are situated at the Bottom of the structure of government. Is there a difference between being in a 'condition of togetherness' and living side by side, next to each other. Absolutely, the former term 'captures' the spirit or 'glue' of 'the condition', while the latter 'captures' the individuality of each individual living in the 'condition'. Both terms are important and both signify an important aspect of political and social power. The 'condition of togetherness' could not exist without the emphasis that creates the very condition, viz. the unique, human condition of the individual. Both are essential to the structure of government and both must exist in the structural configuration of the One and the Many into the form of a democratic government. Its at this point where language can be manipulated by politicians. Political language is usually about governing, but running for office is about promises made while at the Bottom, about what s/he will do, once at the Top. The politician relates specifically to the 'vote' while the power at the Top is exercised in 'generality' and is usually justified by statements such as; " political power is not about 'specifics' but about everyone". The problematic, at this point, relates too, how can power be exercised in general and yet remain democratic within the specific area covered. Laws and policy are tapered to fit certain parts of the social. Except for general laws or policies like, "everyone is free and equal" that apply to everyone, some laws apply to only a part of the public. The bottom line is the individual is the spirit of democracy and is always entitled to be counted, excluded or included, in all law and policy.

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Democracy For The Bottom by Gilbert Gonzalez is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.