America: A Town Square Democracy

来源: renqiulan 于 2023-11-25 18:59:08 [] [博客] [旧帖] [给我悄悄话] 本文已被阅读： 次 (1703 bytes)

Two historic democracies debuted in the late 18th century. One was terrible, the other terrific. *

The French Revolutionaries decapitated democracy with their guillotine during the Reign of Terror, thus giving Napoleon an opening to replace the short-lived republic with a monarchy. Emperor Napoleon, like his imperial predecessors, ruled from the high castle and looked down on his subjects.

On the other hand, America's first president George Washington governed---not ruled--- from the street-level town square, figuratively speaking. He had to work with Congress which held the power of the purse. Likewise for his successors.

Power shared is power limited. Everyone has to play the check-and-balance game. Frankly, this isn't a very efficient system. Still, it is effective enough to keep our unique republic going and growing.

In short, America is a town square democracy. It has stood the test of time. If history is any guide, this town square democracy will go on riding out future storms, one way or another.


Author: renqiulan

* Terrific but far from perfect, our democracy is always a work in progress. 

 


所有跟帖： 

• 沙发。巧了，我正好在线。秋兰，晚上好。：）） -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 19:10:44

• 无巧不成话。感谢盈盈！ -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 19:30:12

• Power shared is power limited. Good point. -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 19:16:42

• We need town square democracy. -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 19:17:15

• We're living in a town square democracy, however -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 19:33:18

• imperfect it is. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 19:33:35

• Bipartisanship between GOP and the Democratic Party is -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:04:13

• prominent feature of the American political system, -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:04:27

• which lead to political deadlock and challenges in achieving -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:05:41

• consensus. This reflects the diversity in the states. -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:09:05

• The democratic process is quite messy. So many conflicting -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:18:02

• interests are involved. Everyone fights to bring bacon home. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:21:03

• So many hands want to be greased. At the end of the day, -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:21:56

• though, by hook or by crook, we manage to -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:22:54

• muddle through. Bottom line, a successful democracy -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:24:31

• lets everyone live to fight another day. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:25:21

• 和秋兰聊天，能学到好多地道的美语表达。谢谢你！比如： -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:48:41

• Everyone fights to bring bacon home. -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:49:17

• So many hands want to be greased. -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:49:26

• by hook or by crook, we manage to muddle through. -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:50:07

• 盈盈周日早安！哪里呢？平常心，平常语；游观世，坐论世，如此而已。 -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:25:24

• 同感，和盈盈一起同谢秋兰！ -CBA7- ♀ 给 CBA7 发送悄悄话 CBA7 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 19:49:19

• Couldn’t agree more “let everyone live to fight another day” -碼農學寫字- ♀ 给 碼農學寫字 发送悄悄话 碼農學寫字 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 08:13:24

• Thank you, 碼農學寫字! We have a living Constitution, which means -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 08:42:08

• we have to guard against regression all the time. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 08:44:49

• Indeed. The Democratic Party consists of a diverse range of -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:41:46

• perspectives and conflicting interests. -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:43:53

• I would say, political leverages make things happen--- -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:29:38

• good or bad. Whoever has the mandate also has the final say. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:32:41

• It is common sense here. Elsewhere? Not so much. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 19:32:07

• There are still authoritarian dictatorships in the world -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:12:52

• We can only do so much. Just make sure that -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:28:03

• we won't get blindsided again. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:31:48

• The tide of history cannot be turned. -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:35:26

• My reading of history is that ingenuity makes history. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:40:17

• sometimes history repeats itself in somewhere. -卫宁- ♂ 给 卫宁 发送悄悄话 卫宁 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 19:23:20

• Point taken. Thank you, 卫宁! Would you be kind enough to -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 19:35:53

• elaborate on the context for a start? -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 19:38:00

• Last century same thing happened in China , Yuan Shikai -卫宁- ♂ 给 卫宁 发送悄悄话 卫宁 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:26:55

• replaced the short-lived republic with a monarchy shortly. -卫宁- ♂ 给 卫宁 发送悄悄话 卫宁 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:27:14

• 公元2023年之二次袁？：） -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:33:24

• 此二元一次方程有解乎？：）） -卫宁- ♂ 给 卫宁 发送悄悄话 卫宁 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:34:52

• 有解乎，无解乎？这题有些难。：）） -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:37:15

• True. Thank you again! -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:34:15

• Goodnight, guys! -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:36:30

• Goodnight. ：）） -盈盈一笑间- ♀ 给 盈盈一笑间 发送悄悄话 盈盈一笑间 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 20:50:53

• Nice share, 秋兰！Thank you. -CBA7- ♀ 给 CBA7 发送悄悄话 CBA7 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 22:09:51

• Is town hall meeting related with town square democracy? :) -CBA7- ♀ 给 CBA7 发送悄悄话 CBA7 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 22:11:19

• Indeed, town hall meetings are town square... -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:48:05

• democracy in action. Of course, social media is the ultimate -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:50:10

• town hall. At least, that's the case in this part of -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:51:33

• the world. Words mean something here. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:53:01

• “social media is the ultimate town hall”, so true! -CBA7- ♀ 给 CBA7 发送悄悄话 CBA7 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 19:40:47

• I don't know about the "nice" part. I only know the " share" -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:43:21

• part. That’s good enough for me. 谢谢小西，周日早安！ -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:45:19

• 秋兰真是谦谦君子啊。Thank you for the nice share and nice answers! -CBA7- ♀ 给 CBA7 发送悄悄话 CBA7 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 19:44:11

• 秋兰好。Thanks for sharing. I'm a little concerned about -唐宋韵- ♂ 给 唐宋韵 发送悄悄话 唐宋韵 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 23:16:35

• a slow metamorphosis of the town square itself... -唐宋韵- ♂ 给 唐宋韵 发送悄悄话 唐宋韵 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/25/2023 postreply 23:18:14

• Perhaps, you might want to put "metamorphosis" in a context. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:57:42

• Then let's take it from there. Many thanks! -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:58:53

• 唐宋韵周日早安！I didn't quite catch your point. My apologies! -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 06:55:36

• Sorry 没有说清楚。我是说我感到美国民主的土壤在变化，因为人口构成、社会思潮、持久和平等因素导致的逐渐变化。 -唐宋韵- ♂ 给 唐宋韵 发送悄悄话 唐宋韵 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 09:17:15

• 诚然如此。多族裔、多元文化正在考验美国民主社会的融和力。 -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 18:29:54

• Foe better or worse,any form of democracy is still democracy -碼農學寫字- ♀ 给 碼農學寫字 发送悄悄话 碼農學寫字 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 09:15:24

• Democracy in name or in substance? That's the question. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 15:58:45

• Well, I beg to differ. I grew up in the one that you may -碼農學寫字- ♀ 给 碼農學寫字 发送悄悄话 碼農學寫字 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 16:16:33

• Call Democracy in name, however many tiny steps put Taiwan -碼農學寫字- ♀ 给 碼農學寫字 发送悄悄话 碼農學寫字 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 16:17:38

• Where she is today. -碼農學寫字- ♀ 给 碼農學寫字 发送悄悄话 碼農學寫字 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 16:18:00

• I'd call it democratic evolution. Thanks for your feedback. -renqiulan- ♂ 给 renqiulan 发送悄悄话 renqiulan 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 11/26/2023 postreply 18:25:57

• Power shared is power limited. Everyone has to play the -天玉之- ♀ 给 天玉之 发送悄悄话 天玉之 的博客首页 (90 bytes) () 11/27/2023 postreply 18:55:33

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