HIGH NOON

(Good o'l Coop. Picture from www.brightlightsfilm.com/47/highnoon.htm

Alrighty, so for most of this post I'm going to assume that everyone has seen the movie High Noon. If you haven't, you should, if only just because Jeff Bridges' daddy is in it. If you haven't seen it, click the link and at least waste two minutes reading a synopsis.

So here's the question: Would Americans truly sit back and let the bad guys come, refusing to help the hero? What does Tocqueville have to say about this?

Well, there is Tocqueville's assertation that a Tyranny of the Majority (mob rule of a sort) can occur when everyone looks out for their own well-being to the exclusion of the COMMON GOOD. This is seen in High Noon, as instead of helping the sheriff to oust the bad guys, every person in town simply gives their own personal reason for not helping. Wimps! John Wayne agrees. Tocqueville says most definitely that this is possible. Tocqueville probably would have said that the townspeople in this movie became a Tyranny of the Majority that DID NOT ACT as opposed to a Tyranny that does act. By not acting, this "mob-majority" chose the path for everyone, effectively overunning the minority voice (Cooper as sheriff).

Does Tocqueville belive that this situation would actually occur in America? Or would the people rise up against the bad guys in protection of what is right? Well, it depends. Tocqueville argued that churches and "voluntary associations" could help to stop a Tyranny of the Majority from ocurring, but in the movie the church didn't help one bit. No other voluntary associations were present in the movie, perhaps skewing the view of what may have happened otherwise.

One interesting thing protrayed in the movie is the fact that there ARE individuals who would help the sheriff, who chose to deny the help! Amidst the "mob," there are people who are ready to help defend the town----why would the sheriff not accept the help? One man was half-blind (and perhaps drunk) and another was little more than a child. Good enough reasons to deny their help?

I think that in real life the sheriff may have possibly taken all the help he could get, despite the helpers' "flaws". Even the kid. Forming such a group could have well formed a nucleus of resistance against the bad guys that would have been able to convince others to help. If some of the townspeople heard that there were three willing to fight the bad guys, then perhaps the three could have multiplied, becoming a voluntary association of protectors that would itself form a majority.

Following this view, I can safely say that I believe what is seen in HIGH NOON does in fact represent Tocqueville's America, GONE WRONG. The preventive measures against Tyranny of the Majority noted by Tocqueville in his book are missing, thus showing what could happen to America itself without those protections.

----BlindProphet

NO PROGRESS!!

(picture from CNN.com)

I have made NO PROGRESS, just like the bill. I apologize for not posting much on here, lately, but I've been pretty swamped. Alright, so enough of that...

What's happening with the Health Care Bill? Is much getting done with this? President Obama has focused on this issue, pushing for the bill, putting his considerable media talent into working to pass the bill...and yet nothing has occurred. Is it because Republicans are stubbornly blocking progress? Is it because Democrats have turned to nitpicking with each other, now that they fully control Congress? Or does Obama not understand that it's CONGRESS that he must appeal to, as opposed to the general public?

It could be a mixture of all of these, but the main question is: WHY HAS PROGRESS BEEN INHIBITED? One would think that with a Democratic President and a Democratic-ruled Congress, any bill should be able to be passed fairly easily! This has not been the case, thus far, and it's interesting to try and figure out why.

Why does Obama focus so much on PUBLIC APPROVAL for the bill? Bills have ben passed in history that have been widely unpopular, yet deemed necessary by the President for the good of the nation. This puch for public approval seems to be doing nothing for the progress of the bill, which is still floundering in Congress. It's very strange that seeking the approval of the people in a democratic manner would hinder the bill, but this is what seems to be happening.

I'll watch closely to see what else develops. I also promise to post more often now...to try and force myself to do so. Well, have a good day!

----BlindProphet