Subversion: The Undermining of Democracy

WORDS OF THE DAY: 

subvert |səbˈvərt|

verb [ trans. ]

undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution) : an attempt to subvert democratic government.

DERIVATIVES

subversion |-ˈvər zh ən; - sh ən| noun

subverter noun

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French subvertir or Latin subvertere, from sub- ‘from below’ + vertere ‘to turn.’

perversion |pərˈvər zh ən|

noun

the alteration of something from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended : the perversion of Marxist theory to justify Soviet policymaking | a scandalous perversion of the law.

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin perversio(n-), from the verb pervertere ‘turn around’ 

perversion

noun

1 a twisted perversion of the truth distortion, misrepresentation, falsification, travesty, misinterpretation, misconstruction, twisting, corruption, subversion, misuse, misapplication, debasement.

Commentary:

The raging radical, ideological libertarian anarchists, known as the Tea Party have taken over a small part of the American Government in an attempt to subvert democracy and the underlying principle by which we govern ourselves—majority rule. They claim they are the majority even though they represent a tiny fraction of Americans. 

Their flawed and incomprehensible logic is: that they represent a majority of people in their state district and have conflated that to mean that they and they alone represent all of America and are they arbiters of what is and is not Constitutional. That is troubling because many of them have done so by attaining their high office by gerrymandering the district they represent, a manipulation of boundaries used to selectively exclude anyone from a district that does not share their views. 

What follows from that is they have perverted the meanings and application of the rule of law and then with the incomprehensible zeal, and the cynical audacity of irrational fanatics lecture us on they own perceived righteousness and the evil nature of all that hold an opposing idea. They have twisted everything to their own predetermined ideology at the expense of truth, logic, and facts.

The real threat in capitulating to their outrageous extortion is nothing less than the loss of  the Democratic principle which is the very foundation of this Republic—the majority rules not the defeated minority within the minority. Their current attempt to subvert the law and extort America to exceed to their unconscionable demands borders on insurrection. And they should be called what they are treasonous. 

Consider that if an outside terrorist organization attempted to shut down our government the swift punishment and unanimous condemnation they would face. Does the fact that these are "US citizens" and self identified "American patriots" lessen their culpability? 

I would submit to you that their betrayal of democracy is even more egregious than any attempt by outsiders at a subversion of democracy—and offer as an example Benedict Arnold who was a "patriot" until the very moment he betrayed his nation.