Ochlocracy – Democracy without Knowledge
Consent of the People to Bury Themselves
Ochlocracy is a word nearly unknown in today’s vocabulary because it does not fit into the adjectives of “awesome”, “cool”, or well, you get the picture. The American model of democracy, which was not what the framers of the Constitution wanted, has spread throughout the world making America the prime mover for the destruction of the nation-state to usher in the era of regionalization.
Proverbs says it best, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes” (Pr 21:2). In an earlier passage it laid the groundwork for this statement by saying, “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,” (Pr 16:2).
So, what exactly is Ochlocracy? In its most simplistic form, which is appears to be the form most people demand today, it is mob rule. I do not mean mob rule as in the riots of the 1960s or even those that have occurred since. Mob rule is the tyranny of the majority gained through the mechanism of democracy; i.e., voting. This is the form of government most feared by Plato, Aristotle, and even the revered Founding Fathers. No one wanted ochlocracy because the next step would by tyranny since the mob would have to be controlled less it destroy the very fabric of society. Have we seen example of Ochlocracy in the modern era?
This man came to power via Democracy
Yes, Hitler was elected to office and given the reigns of power during a series of crisis in Germany. We have seen America trod a similar path. When the North Koreans crossed the 38th Parallel in 1950, Truman asked for and was given power by the United Nation, and the Congress, to wage a war that was not a war. Based on a fabricated incident in the Gulf of Tonkin, 1964, Congress gave President Johnson power to fight a war that was not a war. Based on the events of September 11, 2001, Congress gave President Bush unprecedented powers to fight a “War of Terror”! These “crisis were either manufactured or manipulated to suit the furtherance of presidential power. However, the President best known for using Ochlocracy was President Roosevelt (FDR). He would promote policies that appeared to have the support of the American public, mob rule. I mention these events because they set a precedents that goes largely unnoticed today.
The Democrats have used “mob rule” to gain a large segment of the electorate to advance their tyrannical policies. It was the Democratic party that promoted slavery. It was the Democratic party that enacted the Jim Crow laws to keep the newly freed slaves, enslaved. It was the Democratic party that refused to allow equal rights in the 20th century until large riots broke out across America. Yet, it was the Democratic party that saw its power slipping away and felt itself near extinction that enacted the “War on Poverty” which ushered in a new form of slavery. By tying the masses to stipends from the federal government, the Democratic party ensured itself of a power base unknown probably since ancient Rome.
The Republican party were no angels either since this was the party that used the standing army to force its will on those who disagreed with its policies. It was Lincoln who violated civil rights at will during the “crisis” to imprison those who disagreed with its actions. It was the marriage of the newly developed corporation with the federal government that produced monopolism, or “crony capitalism” as it is called today. Then the government moved against “monopolies” that refused to heel to the government or who threatened those corporations which were already protected by the government. This remains in place today.
Why is this important? The current presidential campaigns have demonstrated the failure of democracy, which has failed every time it has risen its head in history. The American people have spoken that want candidates, rulers, who will not discuss the issues but obfuscate the issues so that they cannot be discussed. In fact, the adherents of either party appear willing of the problems. They only want you to agree with them completely or you become the enemy. So Americans have a choice between two candidates who can do little more than scream at each other and promise policies that violate the very laws they will swear to uphold.
The real reason democracy will always fail is because of the sinful human character (Je 17:9). The sinful lost heart can only devise evil, even if its best intentions were good! The ancient Greek and Roman philosophers promoted the motto, “Follow God” and believed it! However, the god they followed was not the God Who died on the cross for the salvation of those who would recognize they were sinners in need of a Savior. They followed a god, or gods, after they own devising and thus they failed to find God and could not follow Him. This holds true today also. Democracy fails because it rejects God though it deceitfully promises everyone that they can follow God. God is the antithesis to Democracy. Man wishes to rule himself and will not willingly follow God.
However, in the end man fails to form a coherent society and ultimately chooses to bow to Satan who is in their image rather than God. Thus, they exchange the truth of God for a lie (Ro 1:25). They end up worshiping nature (sound like evolution?) and act as animals. The level of violence rises as they seek to “be free from God”, who allows them to follow their own pathway. Yet, the rising violence and degradation is only lauded as men and women are degraded into animalistic behavior.
Do you want to know what America is becoming? Look to the leaders the people want to follow. Look as they promise to enslave you and rob you of the dignity that God gave each person created in His image. I feel like I was in the crowd on that day before Passover in Jerusalem when the crowd shouted, “Crucify Him” and my voice could not be heard above the democratic will of the people. Welcome to Ochlocracy, the will of the people devoid of knowledge because they refused the knowledge of the truth. Welcome to America. Welcome to the New World of our own making.
