Partisanship in Democracy By T.S. Khanna, January31, 2016.

Foundation for Better Government

(www.bettergovt.blogspot.com)

January 31, 2016

Partisanship in Democracy

By T.S. Khanna, January 31, 2016

George Washington, in his farewell address in 1796, emphasized,

“Let me warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of (political) party…..The spirit of party serves always to distract the public councils, and enfeebles the public administration.  It agitates the community with ill founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another; foments occasional riot and insurrection.”

At every presidential election, Washington’s words resound with greater eloquence.  At the election time, we notice that the two-party system is dividing the nation into two non-compromising cultures.  Two fundamentally different economic philosophies are now in conflict: capitalistic economy v/s socialistic economy.  The U.S. government was designed as a wealth producing capitalistic democracy that performed remarkably well.  But now wealth consuming socialistic democracy is fast gaining ground under the two-party system.  America is at the cross-roads.  If allowed to go unchecked, it is likely to lead to economic ruin.  For how long more and how much more can we keep borrowing?

Earlier, in 1786, Washington had stressed, “…men will not adopt and carry into execution the measures best calculated for their own good without the intervention of coercive power.”

It is a challenge for political Pundits to explore means to avert economic suicide of the nation by our two-party system.  Can we abolish the party system and restructure democracy by letting all candidates run independent and all voters vote independently?  It should give direct and more power to the voters and eliminate exploitative opportunities for the party bosses.

Readers' comments are solicited.

The ISIS Danger By T.S. Khanna, January 14, 2016

Foundation for Better Government

January14, 2016

The ISIS Danger

By T.S. Khanna, January 14,2016

Some living species believe that not seeing, noticing, or acknowledging the danger can avert it.  They never live to tell how they faced, fought, or escaped the danger.  Weak men also like to avoid seeing danger in the name of optimism. American leadership is in a similar predicament.

ISIS is a growing danger to the non-Muslim as well as to the Muslim world.  Since declaring the Caliphate in June 2014, there have been sixty attacks caused by ISIS in twenty countries (including Muslim countries) killing 1150 persons and injuring more than 1700.  This is besides the havoc it has created in the Middle East.  It has also started collecting chemical weapons.  Yet, our leadership is unable to see it as a danger to people’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.  They believe it will pass, while it is growing.

ISIS is now training children soldiers asking them to kill their apostate parents, if they are not supportive of ISIS ideology to kill all apostate Muslims and convert or kill all non-Muslims in order to purify this land.  Its goal is to recreate a Caliphate in the Middle East and eventually expand the Medieval Caliphate worldwide forcing everyone to become a “true Muslim”.

To lure the Sunni-Muslim youth into joining them, ISIS makes a dreamy appeal of heavenly historical imaginative picture of the Caliphate destroyed in the 1920s.  The new recruits are establishing destruction cells in various communities.

On December 23, 2015, two well educated Muslim women, Ms. Manor Omar and Ms. Asra Nomani, appeared on TV (PBS).  Ms. Omar declared that Al Baghdadi (current Head of ISIS) has misinterpreted Koran and is misguiding his supporters.  Ms. Nomani, however, insisted that Koran’s Theology will have to be challenged and reformed to maintain peace.  In either case, the danger cannot be ignored.

To prevent bloodshed in the making at a large scale, we must counter ISIS propaganda poisoning the minds of Muslim children worldwide.  The misinterpreted or misguided messages, sanctified in the name of scriptures, are turning good human beings into voracious animals.

As a first step, our government may mobilize the community of well educated Muslims in America, and, in consultation with them, develop and implement a propaganda program countering the ISIS effect.

In the modern world, the new struggle in the making is between the intelligent people and the ignorant religious fanatics in all religions.  The fanatics lack the power of critical thinking but they are in majority.  They cannot perceive the value of human life or the meaning of human rights.

It is in the interest of every intelligent Muslim to deactivate and demolish ISIS for several reasons:

• Considering the forces against ISIS, it can never win.  It can only disturb peace, upset social stability, cause more poverty and disease in the Middle East;
• ISIS kills more Muslims than non-Muslims;
• Every action of ISIS takes Islam to medieval ages and damages its reputation;
• ISIS is causing damage to every Muslim business and to the economy of the Muslim countries;
• ISIS is causing Muslim phobia in the non-Muslim world and subconsciously creating hostile feelings resulting in hidden damage even to the best of Muslims.