Would you prefer to live in a democracy?

Opinion

Once again, since the Parkland shooting, I am reminded of how grateful I am that I do not live in a democracy.

“What’s the problem with a democracy?” I hear you cry (thinking that we really are a democracy). What’s wrong with majority rule?

...and I wonder why you, why anyone would have to ask. Think about it. What is more democratic than the Internet?

Ask any question. Raise any issue. Or simply wait for some earth shaking event, a tragedy, and the discussion, or rather the ranting begins.

There’s no need to define the problem or set parameters. Just divide into your respective ideological groups and start hurling insults.

Imagine a nation governing itself that way.

I spent many years solving problems, sometimes on my own, sometimes as a member or a leader of a project team, and I learned a few things along the way.

• First: It’s impossible to solve anything if you don’t have a clear idea of what that “anything” is. Many times I’ve stopped arguments in a project team by simply asking “What are you trying to do?” Invariably, the team stopped fighting over solutions and began fighting to define the problem. Typically, when they agreed on the problem, the solution was relatively easy.
• Second: Big problems are, well, BIG, complex. They’re comprised of many facets and each one requires its own solution. In other words, solving the big problem is more often than not, solved with baby steps, each one solving a small piece of the problem, one piece at a time.
• Third: When considering two possible solutions that address completely different issues, it’s not a matter of “either, or”, it’s a matter of “neither, nor”. For example, arming teachers versus more gun control are not solutions to the same problem.  
• Fourth and finally: Democracies are not problem-solving bodies. Problems are solved by teams working under strong leadership with every member focused on the same goal.

Sadly, no one really wants to hear this. They are too caught up in the hysteria of the times. Being reasonable, standing up to the mob takes courage and rarely is fruitful. If you don’t agree with one side, you must be for the other. I know. Every time I step into one of these discussions, I feel like the man from the movie The Ox Bow Incident. The mob brooks no dissent.

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