“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
― Winston S. Churchill
Democracy has many tremendous benefits and pluses.
One huge-major minus is that 99 plus percent of the people who vote do not fully grasp the issues that each candidate stands for. So a candidate can say "I will lower your taxes" or [in the case of Sinwar Mamdani] "I will give you lots of free stuff" and it sounds great. But do people understand the effect any given policy has on the economy? Do people really understand how the economy works? The short answer is ... no. I hold myself to be minimally intelligent [since I am Jewish that means that statistically speaking I am probably much smarter than almost anyone else who is not that. That is statistics. Reality is quite different...] and I have very very little idea how the economy works. All I know is that capitalism and *free* markets [not *free* stuff] has taken hundreds of millions out of poverty in the last few decades and has worked much better than socialism but that is where my understanding ends. I don't fully understand economics or foreign policy or domestic policy or anything else politicians deal with. All I understand is a little bit of Torah and even there I am sorely sorely ignorant. So what I know best I barely know.
It emerges that ignorant people like me [and many more ignorant] elect candidates w/o really understanding the issues. What convinces them is the candidates smile or catchy slogans or that he is a good speaker or that she is female or gay etc. etc. [That is why the Torah doesn't have the Jewish king elected democratically - אֵין מַעְמִידִין מֶלֶךְ תְּחִלָּה, אֵלָא עַל פִּי בֵּית דִּין שֶׁלְּ שִׁבְעִים זְקֵנִים וְעַל פִּי נָבִיא--כִּיהוֹשׁוּעַ שֶׁמִּנָּהוּ מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וּכְשָׁאוּל וְדָוִיד שֶׁמִּנָּה אוֹתָם שְׁמוּאֵל הָרָמָתִי וּבֵית דִּינוֹ. But the gemara says that אין מעמידין פרנס על הציבור, אלא אם כן נמלכים בציבור so there is a source for democracy ואכמ"ל].
That would explain why Sinwar-Mamdani is so popular. People don't understand the ramifications of his planned policies. They just hear his smooth talking and empty promises [free everything! redistribution of wealth from the pockets of the Jewish billionaires to the poor blacks, hispanics and illegal immigrants!! and for many - his Jihadist beliefs!!!] and are gung ho. [Note: Hitler ימ"ש was elected democratically].
But no worry. In the next elections people will have awakened to the dystopia he will have created and elect someone more normal. I hope that by then it is not too late to fix things. As for me, I would move from NY to the second Jewish State - Florida. But thankfully, I live in the original Jewish State of Eretz Yisrael so I need not run. It just pains me to see NYC go down into the dumps.
