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Politicians–
Tuming Off
the People.
by
Llam
Nolan
The author
ls •
noted wrlter
and
radio
eommentator In 1,./and.
Tum nasty nn
a
child or animal oflen
enough. and lhey wlll soon
reafu.e
lhat
you are not to be trusted. Tbey'U give
you a wide berth and ignore you. Tbat,
1·
believe. is what has begun to happen on
a huge scale wirh people relative to poli·
ticians. The world is currently bespat–
tered with politicians who have betrayed
lhe trust placed in them by those who
elected lhem to office, and lhe s<;>bering
fact is lhat indivtduals are "switching
off"' from politics.
Apan altogether from discredited
elected reprcsenuuives. lhere are eoougb
forrner dictators and other heads ofstate
wbo were found to have done reprehen–
sible things while in office to malee
China's Triads or Sicily's Mafia seern
JiJee thorougbly honorable organizations.
But since this piece carne to be written
as a result of
a
remark
1
rnade to the
Managing Editor one hot night in Dul>–
lin
wben
·we
were discussin& polities-and
politicians.
1'11
oonfine myself to !hose
elected to oflice by lhe votes of the
people, lhe politicians in oountries ruled
aa:ording to the democratic: $ystem.
11
is worlhwhile
lO
go back and dig a
little to uneanh how detnocracy 6rst
evolved and to
ask
wbat it is. We bandy
the word about blithety. but do
w~
really
koow what
it
means, what its history
was, where it carne from and wlly?
Democracy has been dofined by dic–
tionary oompilers as a form of govem–
ment in wbich soverei8n power resides
in the people as a whole and is cxercised
either directly by them or· by lheir
elected representatives.
lf
you go right back through human
history, you'U find that two main meth–
ods of govemment have beeo tried: One
is based on force (the government of tbe
many by tbe few, or even by one); the
olher is based on persuasion (lhe gov–
ernment of the many by lhemselves or
by lheir elected representativos).
Emperors 80vemed their ancient cm–
pires by force; they bad lheir
armies
to
bac:k lhem up. The "common people"
had no say in deciding their own future.
But in Greece
a
new movcmeot began
around
600
B.C. when sorne city·states
set up the first democracies. The word
itself comes from two Greek words,
demos
meaniog "people" and
kratein
meaning ''rule." The males of these c:ity–
stales
would oongregate to discuss prol>–
lems and decide maJOr issues of lheir
oommunities. (lt
is
perhaps worlh point–
ing
out that women were not
repr~
seote<l, oor were slaves.)
_
The populations of these initial
ceo–
lees of democracy ranged from five
thousand to ten thousand, but
as
popu–
lalions .increased, it became clearly im–
possible for
al/
the citizens to galher
WEEK
ENDINO NOVEMBER
22..1975
together lo make community laws. Tbus.
out of necessity. evolved the idea of rep–
resentation - trusted individuals being
elected
to
represent lhe people.
lnevitably, becau.se of human inctina–
tions, ambitioo and the desire for power.
sorne of the representativos became little
more than mob leaders and abused lheir
positions and power for lheir own self–
aggrandizement. Tben carne threats
from the surrounding poweri\JI empire
states, and little democracies were ab·
sorbed, defeated.
However. a hardy seed bad pecn
sown. and democracy as an ideal sur–
vived. In lime the idea became fact once
more as democracies were set up '"
EnJ~and,
lhe Nelherlands, ltaly and lhe
Rhtneland. They swvived until the
ce~
tralized European monarc:hies were es–
tablished.
Thc British people are proud of the
fact that since
1295
ihey have been
electing representatives to the Parlia–
ment at Westminster. But thougb it may
seem strange when reminded of it in
1975.
it was only in
1832
that lhe
..mtddle c:lasses" were pven the vote,
while buodreds of thousands of women
bad to wait for lhat privilege until
1918!
Gcrrnany became a dernocracy afler
World War
l.
Tbat demóc:racy crum–
bled under the dictatorship of Hitler.
ltaly
ha~
its own dictator in Mus.<olini.
There were other dictatorships, too, in
Europe. Nor should óne forget Soviet
Russta whic:h has a system in whic:h
al!
oppositioo panies were abolished and
rule
is
by one panyonly.
Democracy has been caUed lhe
no–
blest of political ideals. Among lhe m0$t
famous and frequently quo(ed words
about
it
wcre those spoken at Oettys–
burg by Abraham Linooln. He uid:
"Wc hcre highly resolve ... that govem–
ment of the people, by the people, for
.the people. shall not perish from thc
earth...
Since Lincolo's time millions of
Americans have died in lhe defensc of
democ:racy.
So
have millions of other
nationalities. But now democracy
is
once
more under almost unendurable stress -
and again from lhe inside.
There is a. growing cynicism among
people regarding the manner in which
politicians. great and smaU, famous and
insigniAcant, have·been seen to conduct
themselves in the use of power for their
own $elfish eods. Heads of state. elected
representatives, minor local politicians
- a
dtsturbing number have shown a
feañul propensity for oorruption, for
besmirching lheir professions a.nd for
betraying lhe trust placed in them by
those who voted them into office.
lt
has
been hapJ$ning
all
over the
world.
lt
would be
too
easy to name
names. All ofus oould do it. Butthe very
case of being able lo do so is itself a
terrible indictmeot of the way in which
man, once he absconds 'from standards
of ordinary decency, gaUops beadlong
toward willin&oorruption.
lf the switch-off of trust in politi<:ian.s
and political macbinery increases, lhe
danger is lhat the lack of interest will
lead to anarchy, one of tbe concomitants
of wbich
is
cllaos. Politicians who are
seen not to give a d.arnn (or who are
suspected of not giving
a
damn) about
monility are increasingly finding them-
Ítt-
s,iil
by
Stanley R. Rader
Building Humanitarian Bridges
París,
October
lS:
Divisive issues are threatening the very demise of the United
Nations. Anti·lsrael resolutions in tbe General Assembly. clearly racist in c:harac–
ter, threaten the fundamental pillars of the organiz.atioo. The racist views of
General Amin of Uganda. so rightfully denoitnoed by U.S. Ambassador Moyn•–
han only a few weeks ago. emphasi1.e how painfuUy slow is man's progres.s
toward peace.
And yet. yestcrday in Ne>r York the Onited N'l_tions celebrated its 30th
annivcrsary. A special ooncert was presented for the delegates in the General
Assembly Hall -
a
tradition that· began in
1~64
at the request ofSecretary Dag
Hammarskjold. This year Secretary Kurt Waldheirn oommissioned our very good
friend Gottfried \Ion Einem of Austria to oompose a special cantata for the
occasion. Tbe city of Vienna generously arranged for its peñorrnance by the
Vieona Symphony Orchestra apd its renowned Maestro Cario Maria Giulini. Mr.
Armstroog and the Ambaisador lntemational Cultural Fouodation are very
proud to bave participated in this major event by or&artizlng the reoording of the
coocert aod the distribution of lhe record for lhe benefit of the United Nations
and its affiliated agencies.
Thc thirty-year history of lhe United Nations organlzation has been one
during which the hopes and expectations ofmankind h.ave
been
expressed.
1t
has
not been an era, however, wilhout difficulties. The hopes and expectations
rema.in unchanged and are even more compreheosive today. Voo Einem's can–
talll entitled
To Posrerlty
is intcnded in its music and words to make us all -
ordinary people, statesmcn. and nations - think of wbat has prevented us from
achieving Ibis 80ll.
Tomorrow the conccrt
wiU
bellCrformed again in Vieona, and we are boptn8
to be present once more.
lt
was one year ago lhat President Rudolpb Kirdl·
schlaeger of Austria received Mr. Armstroog and
mean~
lhe idea of the AI CF
carne into being. The presiden! had a great interest in Mr. Arrnstrong's world–
wide eJforts for peace and for better understanding amoog peoples everywhere.
Vienna,
a
city
so
much connected with the
fi~lds
of music: and culture in the
minds of people everywhere, liad already established
a
cul tural bridge with.
Ambassador College earlier lasi year wheo the Vienna Symphony Orchestra ahd
Maestro Oiulini peñormed lhe inaugural concerts at lhe Ambassador College
Auditorium in Pasadena.
As
Mr. Armstroog bas
said.
lhe world needs great humanitarian elfons and
lhe world needs demonstrations of concern for others. The world also needs an
appreciation of culture and
art
and spiritual understanding of lhe great transcen–
dental purpose for all of humanity. Since our visitto Vienna last year, the AICF
has in fact been founded. lts first concert
seaso~.
now under way,
is
heralded
as
one of the most outstanding elforts cvei in the 6eld of classical music, and in
a
few months the foundation's new publication,
Human Potential,
will
be launched
io tbe United States under the guidance of one of the m0$1 distinguished editorial
boards ever :usembled. We are confident that lhe goals and objectives of the.
foundatioo, as so beautifully stated by Mr. Armstrong, will indeed be ful.filled
and manlúnd will truly benefiL
selves devoid of support. But mere lack
of support oould very casily sprcad out–
wa.rd and onward
10
a
wholesale distrust
and lac:k of interest in politics in general.
Aod if tha,t were to happen, we woúld
have a situation in which !he mass of the
people would abrogate lheir politic:al re–
sponsibility. For tbat to happen would
be
a
calamity.
What
is
necessary
is
lhe reestablisb–
ment of solid moral standards of behav–
ior. We now stand at sucb an advanced
stage of knowledge of all kinds - medi–
ca!. technological, scientific, agri<:ultural,
educational - that never before in his·
tory has there been sucb a colossal po–
tential for achievement - or
wasrage.
• Let us apply sorne of our oommon
sense and knowlege to averting that
wastage. Let us use
aU
our perception,
intelligencc, sensitivities and nerve-end–
in~s
LO
avoid disaster and to save some–
thmg true and fine.
Demoslhenes said: "There
is
ooe
safeguard ltoowo generaUy
lO
the wise,
whic:h is an advantage and sea¡rity to
aiL but especiaUy to democracies agarn.st
despots - suspicion."
All right, Jet us yse lhat suspicion
wisely, because what Tbomas Woodrow
Wilson said in
1917
is even more apf.ro–
priate now nearly sixty years later: •The
world must be made safe for democ–
racy."
o
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