Revolution: the prospect invokes visions of violent uprisings: torches burning, breaking glass, and heads flying. This was the old way of doing things. The people were desperate, living in penurious conditions, and the oppressors were brutal savages, so it was only fitting that blood would flow. Nowadays, developed countries usually look for a more “feminine” approach to change. We appeal to harmony, to love. If only feelings were as effective as reason in erecting a government that champions peace. This is where Meritocracy comes in. It provides something the world has never yet fully embraced: a rational revolution. To combat the promising flickers of revolution, the media often douses the flames with silly references like Step Up the Revolution, or with TV shows that depict revolution in the form of a kid deciding he doesn’t want chocolate milk served at lunch. This diverts the public’s awareness and attention from the true essence of revolution, the people’s fight for freedom, and sedates us with meaningless and trivial banter.
The people, though, when they catch on and get fed up, won’t tolerate it. In Iceland, the government fired all those bankers who were responsible for the country’s economic meltdown. This was the exact opposite of what America did. Iceland didn’t bail out those incompetent fools. It’s simple business sense. If an employee is terrible at his job, he should have the decency to resign, but more often he needs to be terminated. Of course, they — the super rich, the ownership class — include foreign corporations, and operate outside rational parameters and those of the citizenry. It’s ridiculous that we answer to those who aren’t citizens of our country, and that we must pay for their greed. In a Meritocracy, the leaders are regular citizens, albeit highly knowledgeable and experienced in their fields. They perform what could be called the ultimate political sacrifice: instead of chasing glory, power, or money, they establish the rules and means for increasing opportunity for everyone — they ensure that all children can flourish. They are the elected gardeners, who direct resources and cultivate the soil. Their motivations are nothing like those of unelected, unregulated bankers.
Meritocracy is the most worthy political system to fight for. It’s based on science, on taking what’s best from disparate options, and finding a synthesis between the two. Employing the scientific method, we are not reliant on faulty morals or wild guesses as to what will work. For example, we could subject the presidential terms to the scientific method. The competition between republicans and democrats should be about improving the nation, not tearing each other down. Groups should be helping to improve each other’s ideas. As it stands, no matter which side you choose, they are simply just a little better at mudslinging than their competitors are.
The whole political process is an embarrassment to the human race. It isn’t about showing merit or proving that your policies are better than those of your opponent. The goal of a political party is to find ways to appeal to voters through any means. It squanders scientific tools on determining which voters in a particular area tend to vote, how past elections were run, how age groups vote, how minorities vote, the amount of money spent on different aspects of the political vote, etc. Elections are a sham, a tribute to opportunism.
The presidential hopefuls never once ask us what we want. Their game is never cooperative. We’re all like children in a dysfunctional classroom whose teacher ignores our interests, while the students are left indoctrinated, taught by a book and a rigid curriculum that shuts off our creativity and imagination. What if the students were encouraged to question the content, to alter it, and to participate in its evolution? What if the election process itself embodied a commitment to the enrichment of the people? What if reason were the benchmark? Revolutionary!
The political process needs to be Meritocracized — before it’s too late.
