Dumbing Down Democracy

Voters have been fooled as candidates bypass logical arguments and appeal to the unconscious mind. UN studies show that happiness and low taxes are not possible. Making abortions illegal increases taxes for education. We citizens have not been told the truth. Read this book to see the problems and some solutions. Let's get smarter! More

It seems that in America and the UK, Juvenal’s observation that the political power of ancient Roman emperors was based on giving the people, "bread and circuses." This seems to be prevalent today with food stamps and football keeping the people content. It seems that our two countries are stumbling down the rocky path to degradation. Are we willing to determine what type of government we want--and work for it? If so, this book may be of value to you.
This book was originally meant to show the methods that have been used in modern elections to bypass our intellects and appeal to our unconscious minds. These were particularly evident in the elections of Bush and Trump and in the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom. As the writing progressed, it was deemed necessary to present some basic logic and psychology to show how the election manipulators had delved into our unconscious minds and had ventured from logical and verifiable arguments in order to accomplish their goals.
Once these issues were presented it was decided to venture with the reader into what kind of government we might like to have--and why. One of the questions asked is whether we want low taxes or happiness. The happiest countries are shown to have very high taxes, while the United States is ranked 18th on the international happiness scale. Another question is whether liberty or equality should be the major measure of justice for the society. Political philosophers realize that these two ideals are often mutually incompatible.
The latter part of the book looks at education, and what may be improved. If we are to have an educated democratic republic, we must have educated citizens, legislators, and executives. The ending chapter deals with what we might consider as constitutional amendments to bring the Constitution up to date and to reverse the 5 to 4 decisions of some of the Supreme Courts that have redirected the founding document into directives that are directly counter the reasons for the Constitution – – to provide for the general welfare.