Tyrants, Democracy, and good wishes for Obama

As well as the Second Bailout of the British Banks, BBC News tells of an ozzy, Harry Nicolaides, banged up for 3 years for disrespecting the King of Thailand. Also, the Mayor of Doncaster who refuses to quit and experts discover, late in the day, that there is no constitutional channel to oblige him to quit.

And then there our Barack, walking up the steps to the White House.

Democracy is about being able to criticise and remove rulers who do not serve the people rightly, and being able to elect rulers who do serve the people rightly.

Barak Obama stands up between the statues of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, and asks for the people to assist him in his task.

Then he steps into the glass prison of the Presidency. Not just behind the glass protection against some crazy gun-totin' killer looking for his place in the hall of fame, but behind the ring of steel, his circle of advisers, that form his mental prison for the next four, perhaps eight, years.

They will introduce him to The Briefcase that contains the code and the key that unlock America's Weapons of Mass Destruction. They will whisper the secrets that make it necessary for the American hegemony to continue unchanged. Masters of manipulation, viziers of the subservient command, they will subtly try to bend the President to their way of thinking.

But there are some advisers who know the truth, who know that mankind is soiling its own bed, that oil will run out, and that banks did not always have the monopoly on issuance of curency; who know that cooperation is better than command, and that tolerance and leadership is better than control.

And there is Obama, who has a rare combination of heart and intelligence, who knows that communities can find strength through organising.

May all the benevolent gods and goddesses all humanity, existent or non-existent, single or triune, black white or clothed in Shekinah, universal or personal, give him the gift of wisdom. May the Great Spirit give him great wisdom.

And may every human everywhere help him to create a stable, sustainable economy and society.

It can be done.

But it entails diverting our economies away from consumerism and militarism, and toward renewable energy and constructive action. And diverting our communities away from war games and towards conviviality.

It can be done, but it is a bit of a challenge. But we have gotta do it, otherwise we will end up like poor Harry Nicoliades.