A thread in the BBQ Pit (Texas - An Evil State) is so far off the rails in a flame war that I really don’t want to go there. But it raises at least one interesting question: To what extent are voters responsible for the actions if the governments they elect?
Obviously, they are not all personally responsible for all government actions; anbd those who have chosen to vote against a government program have pretty clearly shown (at least to their own conscience) that they don’t want any responsibility for it.
However, politicians often do things because they know they have public support. So, if polls show a majority of voters support the death penalty, and politicians enact it because of the public support, aren’t the majority responsible at least in some way for the government’s action? Not responsible in the sense of having to answer to a court of law, but responsible for answering to their own conscience, especially if the system is known to be flawed?
In a Liberal Democracy, yes, voters are ultimately responsible. Where things become muddled is the level of education on issues and condensation of entire platforms into one or two “smaller” issues.
Thank the Progressives for referendum and recall. If enough people figure out they’re being duped, things will change, and in a hurry. If we decided tomorrow that our local police was unnecessary, they’d be gone the day after that (which would free up boatloads of municipal monies because the police takes up good gobs of it).
Who is responsible for the complacency of the people? It’s a marriage of convenience. People don’t get that politics is everything in life. If something is to get changed, it’s through politics. Another problem is that, because the federal government has cut money to (most, at least some) states, states cut money to the cities, making them have to scramble for progressive and alternative ways of getting some capital. If government doesn’t work on its most basic level, or is at least flawed on its most basic level, people quickly lose faith when they should grit their teeth and fight back.
Long story short, yeah, people are ultimately responsible. We put these people in power, don’t we?
Additionally, and I haven’t read the Pit thread you supplied, but if people are saying that the government in Texas is “evil”, then they’re saying the people are as well. That is, if they believe that people elect people that carry out the plans and procedures they want.
Then again, this message board is an odd cross-section of society. I wonder if it’s indicative of society as a whole sometimes. Sounds like another thread.