What? That is completely crazy!

Woke up still thinking about the movie. The English gentleman who had arranged for Iceland to be one of the countries participating in the movie's global premier gave a speech before it started reiterating a theme in the film also. The basic point was that as long as we live in a democracy, the government will not make any policies that are roundly unpopular. They will not force people to stop driving their cars, they will not tell the oil companies to stop digging. Democracy is basically about keeping things going without upsetting anybody too much. If there is to be change in the system, it can only come from massive popular movements that catch on and thereby become the new norm, like the suffragette movement.

Yeah, it is a pretty rare thing in a democracy for a leader to say something like, "What? That is completely crazy. We are not going to do to that. No way. Get out of here." Instead they listen to their constituents, try to see if there is any way to accommodate the demands of the public within the policies they are developing, if there is anyway to balance the needs of everyone.

It only works if we let our opinions be heard.

Comments

Valur said…
Haven´t seen it, but reading up on the film, it sounds like filmaking one should really embrace.
September 23, 2009 at 11:40 AM
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