Apart from the most important individual values, optimal orgasms and a gentle death, the most important social values are freedom and safety. In many instances, safety is a prerequisite to freedom, which is why a strong government is usually needed. A government can come into existence via different routes. One of the possible routes is to be elected, more or less directly, by the people. This is what we call a democracy. Whether this government later interferes with the personal freedom of the people or not has very little to do with the fact that it was established in a democratic way. As a matter of fact, a democratic route of establishing a government often has lead, and leads, to governments …show more content…
Whether a country is a police state or not has nothing to do with the question of how a government came into power, whether democratically or by any other way. To characterize a country as a police state just means that the police have wide-ranging power over the lives of the country’s citizens. And this is certainly the case in the US. It doesn’t really matter where the power of the police originates from. Whether it stems from power vested into the police by summary decree, or from a huge body of written legislation and regulations, as in the case of the …show more content…
At the end of the day, the freedom of the people does depend on those in power. If they are strong, the government itself may infringe liberties, and if they are weak, they can’t provide the safety to stop neighborhood rule by mafia types, talibans, feudal landlords or other repressive micro-organizations. Plato, who felt contempt for governments established by a vote of unqualified people, recommended that benevolent philosopher kings hold power. The constitution started with the people in mind. Over the last 200 years it has been modified ten times over, and isn't becoming any more people friendly. With all the amendments implemented into the constitution, it is becoming more vague as to who the constitution backs up. What areas of the constitution could be considered elitist? How about the 7th amendment? Do you think the right to a fair trial is to protect the average citizen? I think not. I believe a right to a trial is so the elites who commit crimes could have a chance to get off scott free. The 15th amendment gives people the right to vote? But who? Elite WHITE MALES! Even though the 15th amendment states “should not be denied of any state by race, color or previous condition of servitude. So how long did it take to finally incorporate women into the voting game? Women weren't able to vote, but colored people were allowed to? So were women the real