Lesser Evilism and Mandates
Selling Your Soul for a Mess of Pottage
-by Richard Moreno
In the run up to the November presidential election,
some of America's most renowned social critics--from
Noam Chomsky to Howard Zinn--have lent their leftist
credentials in the service of the Democratic
presidential nominee, John Kerry. To be sure, some of
these former radicals have qualified their moral
capitulation with the nuance of supporting Kerry only
in swing states. Yet, in essence, their fundamental
goal, i.e., getting Kerry elected, is identical to that of
the typical pro-Kerry Democrat. According to this
quasi-leftist thinking, Any Body but Bush, however
similar, deserves the people's mandate.
This idea of giving Kerry, or anyone, our mandate is
worth exploring in greater detail.
Theoretically, in the arena of political power, there
is a fundamental political-ethical concept known as
the mandate. In ancient times, the Chinese Emperors,
from the time of the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, in
a quest to legitimatize their malevolent dynastic
rule, branded their authority as being divinely
inspired. Thus they notoriously prostituted the
concept of the Tien Ming, i.e., Mandate of Heaven, in
order to commit some of the worst atrocities history
as known. Whole peoples and cultures were raped and
pillaged by the Middle Kingdom in the name of the
Mandate of Heaven. Likewise, in Roman antiquity, the
Caesars, particularly from the reign Augustus to that
of Hadrian, would evoke the divine to justify their
cruel rule.
In contemporary times, the preferred mandate is no
longer that of the gods or heaven, but that of the
demos, i.e., the people. The powers that be assume
their leadership responsibility in the name of the
people's mandate who, via some sort of parliamentary
method, seemingly give their consent to the newly
crowned leader. In this context, elections today are
a powerful tool to justify one's actions as head of
state. Thus, when Bush, with the aid of a complacent
congress, invades a sovereign country in the Middle
East, he is doing so under the banner of the people's
mandate, and his actions are rarely questioned or
challenged by the mainstream media or society in
general. After all, he infallibly governs with the
people's mandate.
The concept of the people's mandate is a powerful
psychological-social weapon to evoke, for example,
when heads of state engage in illegal acts of military
aggression. This has been the case from the ancient
times of the Romans to the present time of the North
Americans. The concept of the mandate has served to
legitimize some of the most barbaric acts in history.
And it continues to serve the most criminal acts being
committed within the contemporary period.
So when you hear people argue for you to vote for
Kerry, since it is ostensibly a vote for the lesser
evil, you should realize that you are being asked to
give Kerry your mandate--and that, if elected,
whatever he does from the time you vote for him will
be done in your name and with your consent. Hence,
when Kerry puts 40 thousand more troops into Iraq as
he has vowed, or when Kerry increases defense spending
while eroding labor laws, or when Kerry implements
draconian Patriot Act legislation that he himself
helped enact, it will all be accomplished with your
mandate. You should always bear this in mind when
some former leftist personality urges you to vote Bush
lite.
In synthesis, we all share the responsibility as
citizens of the most powerful country on earth to
ensure that this administration does not act
recklessly in our names and with our approval, that
is, with our mandate.
Richard Moreno is a student and activist at Mt. San
Antonio College. He is also a member of the Global
Resistance Network in Los Angeles. He can be reached
at polyapplications@aol.com.
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