Author Topic: Whenever I wonder why I bother voting...  (Read 370 times)

Offline Dowding

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Whenever I wonder why I bother voting...
« on: June 14, 2008, 12:55:52 PM »
... I take a look at Zimbabwe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7454569.stm

As flawed and imperfect my democracy is, thank shreck I can walk into a polling booth and not run the risk of being beaten senseless.
War! Never been so much fun. War! Never been so much fun! Go to your brother, Kill him with your gun, Leave him lying in his uniform, Dying in the sun.

Offline Boroda

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Re: Whenever I wonder why I bother voting...
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2008, 04:14:16 PM »


???

IMHO South Rhodesia is a perfect example of real, true "democracy". And they were absolutely loyal to natives, nothing like apartheid...

BTW, don't you know you live in a Monarchy?

Offline Holden McGroin

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Re: Whenever I wonder why I bother voting...
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2008, 04:22:06 PM »
(Image removed from quote.)
BTW, don't you know you live in a Monarchy?

Don't you know that a constitutional monarchy is different from an absolute tzarist style monarchy?

Dowding lives under some rules called the Magna Carta: They have a parliment and everything. 
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Offline Boroda

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Re: Whenever I wonder why I bother voting...
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2008, 04:31:13 PM »
Don't you know that a constitutional monarchy is different from an absolute tzarist style monarchy?

Dowding lives under some rules called the Magna Carta: They have a parliment and everything. 

Queen/King still has the right to dismiss (is it a right word) a parliament?

Russian Monarchy's nobles had it's Magna Carta from Catherine the Great, and was a disaster. When a duty to serve turned into a lack of responsibility. Same toejam happened to Soviet Power...

Offline Holden McGroin

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Re: Whenever I wonder why I bother voting...
« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2008, 05:13:54 PM »
Queen/King still has the right to dismiss (is it a right word) a parliament?

I believe Charles I was the last monarch to do so, although that I my American education talking. Some citizens of the commonwealth may have better information.

While Charles I dissolved Parliament, Parliament then dissolved the Monarchy and beheaded Charles I, so if not outright banned, dissolution of Parliment by the monarch has been frowned upon since then.
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Offline Dowding

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Re: Whenever I wonder why I bother voting...
« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2008, 05:50:10 PM »
As Holden points out, dissolution of parliament would be a little tricky for the Queen. In fact, I think heads would roll... again. The Bill of Rights of 1689 and subsequent legislation removed the rights of the Sovereign to rule without a Parliament - the Queen cannot dissolve Parliament without its consent. Therefore only all-out civil war would generate such a thing - and the protagonists in civil wars are not in the habit of obeying the rule of law anyway.

Given that we have had getting on for 400 years of stable, liberal, free-thinking democracy since - I think we have things under control. But thanks for your concern.

I know to outsiders, the constitutional monarchy is a difficult concept to understand. On the face of it, it does appear anachronistic, undemocratic and elitist. But to us Britons, it is a reminder of where we have come from, the great things we have given to the world, and the major achievements a small island off the coast of a largely hostile continent managed to pull off - it is part of the national identity.

How are things under absolute Tsarist rule anyway, Boroda? Different day, same Tsar/Lenin/Stalin/Putin?
« Last Edit: June 14, 2008, 05:58:39 PM by Dowding »
War! Never been so much fun. War! Never been so much fun! Go to your brother, Kill him with your gun, Leave him lying in his uniform, Dying in the sun.

Offline superpug1

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Re: Whenever I wonder why I bother voting...
« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2008, 08:37:29 PM »
the British Empire, "Never before have so many been oppressed so politely." lol.

Ya Zimbabwe is in need of some help... Sad thing is that I think for them to view it as legitimate it'd have to come from another black African nation.

I voted today! Woot first time.

Offline Shuckins

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Re: Whenever I wonder why I bother voting...
« Reply #7 on: June 15, 2008, 07:02:41 AM »
If memory serves, the British monarch can dismiss (I believe the term is prorogue) parliament and call for a general election....IF the parliament is seen to be especially contentious and ineffective.

But I'm not really sure....

Offline Boroda

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Re: Whenever I wonder why I bother voting...
« Reply #8 on: June 16, 2008, 04:24:11 PM »
If memory serves, the British monarch can dismiss (I believe the term is prorogue) parliament and call for a general election....IF the parliament is seen to be especially contentious and ineffective.

But I'm not really sure....

Any elected branch is exactly what you said.

South Rhodesia is a perfect example of "democracy" in action: a moron elected "by popular demand" gets everything diddlyed up. Under such circumstances they need someone like Stalin to get rid of the bloodsuckers and make the people work.

Fortunately, in XXI century "electoral democracy" compromised itself so much that only pigsty voters believe in it.

Democracy = war and death. Totalitarianism = peace and prosperity.