“Too Stupid For Democracy?”

Speaker: Eileen McCann
Delivered On:
Place:
Subject: Democracy.

Protest songs.
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Description: This folksong by Canadian artist Eileen McGann captures the challenge of democracy
References:
Transcript/Log:
Oh I think we’re just too stupid for democracy.
Whoever thought majorities should rule?
I think we’re just too stupid for democracy.
Show me a mirror, I’ll show you a fool.

Think of the majority of people that you meet:
Do you think that their opinions should be law?
Well, if you’re like the majority, you think the rest are nuts
Thus democracy reveals a fatal flaw.

Think about the average uncultivated field:
There’s twenty-thousand weeds for every flower.
And over in the corner where manure’s piled high
You’ll find the weeds who want to be in power.

And every four or five years they will play a little game
Saying: “You can pick your leader – take your choice.”
And they throw us out a line which we swallow every time
And that’s the end of having any voice.

Oh, I think we’re just too stupid for democracy.
The democratic world is under curse.
I think we’re just too stupid for democarcy
Though all of the alternatives are worse:

Dictatorship is full of nasty people who will shoot you
Plutocracy is likewise full of sharpers who will loot you
Oligarchy’s full of snobs who snag all the important jobs
Monarchy is kind of fun but still I think its day is done
Communistic theory’s fine but put in practice every time
It turns from nice to nasty and I don’t think it would suit you.
Which leaves us meritocracy
Which always sounded good to me…

Folksingers in the government and all the laws must rhyme
Folksingers in the government, oh we’ll have such a time!
Jamming about policy and singing party line…but…
Maybe your ideas of merit aren’t the same as mine…

Oh I think we’re just too stupid for democracy
The democratic world is under curse
I think we’re just too stupid for democracy
Though all of the alternatives, all of the alternatives
All of the alternatives are worse!

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