Criss Colon in answer to your question
Quote by Criss Colon; To a Dominican,the glass is always,"Half Full",never "Half Empty"!
THey are the "Eternal Optomists"!
In any Country where the Government had stolen all the Peoples money for so many years,they would have revolted years ago!Not here."WHY?"
Criss, Dominicans are not ?Eternal Optimists? or ?Optimists? in any sense of the word. An optimist, after so many years, would finally get tired of hoping, wishing and waiting and do something to change the situation. Dominicans are fatalists and ?Fatalism? is the evil that the Dominicans face. To understand this correctly you must look at the definition of this word, ?Fatalism ? noun - a doctrine that events are fixed in advance so that human beings are powerless to change them; also : a belief in or attitude determined by this doctrine?.
In this country almost all the land has been owned and controlled by the rich and powerful. These same coteries are the ones that have made the rules as they went along. Envision yourself in the fifteenth century here in the DR. You were a native, a poor or average immigrant or a rich immigrant. It has had its revolts but these have always ended up being put down in the end and replaced with something else and the rich and powerful have always come out on top. After almost 500 years of this the DR becomes democratic in the true sense of the word but the problem is that the rich and powerful have always had the control. From a historic prospective, the expansion of democracy here in the DR took place in the context of the State?s development. It should also be remembered that the loss of legitimacy by politics and political parties is accompanied by a parallel loss of legitimacy by the State. The current crisis of legitimacy is, in part, a consequence of the weakening of the State, which is democracy?s natural scenario. Here in the DR is the inadequate level of democratic education and culture prevalent in extensive sectors of society, those excluded for centuries from political life as well as the dominate ones that understand democracy only under authoritarian modalities. Such a lack of education and culture is also and frequently perceived in the way political parties and their leaderships operate and in some political practices that exclude cooperation in favor of confrontation. Democratic culture is also weakened by the way the media tends to replace debate and the exchange of ideas with more superficial and less relevant aspects of democracy, turning politics into a show and playing the role that properly belongs to political parties. Probably the most evident problem is corruption. Even if corruption has been more extensive under dictatorships than under the democratic regimes, the resurgence of unprecedented scandals violates public ethics, affects the economy, creates the impression that politicians only care about their personal interests and contributes to a further erosion of the rule of law.
For a democracy to function properly its citizens must understand what a democracy is, how it operates and the responsibilities of its citizens in maintaining it. Very simply put a democracy is simply and solely a form of government. ?The government of the State by the Many, as opposed to its government by the Few, and to its government by One?. The DR has seen its government by One, its government by the Few and now has the government of the State by the Many but in reality it is still being governed by the Few because of the Dominican?s failure to understand that which it has in front of it. Through the years the DR has had the people with wisdom who incorporated and applied a constitution and through the years this document has been added to and subtracted from but the basis of this document is almost a mirror duplicate of the original US constitution. The Dominicans have almost all the rights and freedoms that an American has in the US. Add to this the treaties and agreements signed by the State such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and others.
The symbolic feature of democracy is the right and freedom to put a cross on a piece of paper, after careful independent though, in secret and without fear of reprisal. Democracy is freedom but not freedom to over rule. It is the right to make real choices, all the time and in all aspects of one?s life. Democracy is meeting the material need of its citizens for work, for income, for health, for security and to meeting their spiritual needs for dignity, for knowledge, for self-expression and for reverence. The possibility of a democracy being overthrown in favor of a different system is in direct proportion to its failure to meet these needs.
My research seems to indicate that the percentage of the Dominican population that supports democracy is rather high but the percentage of the population that are satisfied about how it works is pretty low. Such a low level of satisfaction can be explained by several factors: (a) the lack of appropriate economic and social results shown by the democratic regime; (b) the crisis and loss of prestige of the State itself; (c) the absence of a solid democratic culture; (d) the effects of cases of corruption by political leaders; (e) the difficult relationship between parties and the rest of civil society; (f) the subordination of politics to the powers that be; (g) the failure of society to understand what they can and must do to make the democratic process work.
I think the most relevant factor is the disenchantment brought about by the increase in inequality and poverty under the former and present regimes and such a co-existence of democracy, inequality and poverty is unsustainable in the long term. The tension created by the dynamic forces of the global economy and the needs and requirements of social inclusion, risks to overflow the institutional frameworks and to endanger democratic governance.
After almost 500 years of being under the thumb of the coterie the majority of the Dominicans have acculturated into this fatalistic mode of thinking that they are powerless to change anything, as this is the way it has always been. The average Dominican being born and raised in this perceived non-changeable condition and with the natural instinct of survival has adapted to living life to its fullest at the moment. Without the education of the ability and importance of settings goals be it for next week, month, year or later the norm is to live for today and they will worry about ma?ana en la ma?ana.
A good analogy of the DR situation would be that of the Blacks and Native Americans in the USA. Both groups were put in their perceived places many years ago. As an example, a slave in the 18th century would be exported from his country and deposited in the USA. He was then forced to work but was allowed such pleasures as ample food and the ability to fornicate. He would then produce a family who would later be sold off and be transported to a different area and the process repeated itself. Punishment for crimes and misdeeds was usually swift and at times very cruel but the slaves adapted to their situation and the majority of them existed with many enjoyable and pleasurable moments. With their inability to change things some would maybe try to escape which usually brought death or freedom, (Moya crossing), or they learned how to accept their lot and lived life to its fullest each day and not worrying about tomorrow until tomorrow came. This was not accomplished thru any optimistic doctrine believing that things would eventually change for the better, but rather thru a fatalistic doctrine in the belief that they were powerless to change their situation and therefore lived a life of acceptance. The constitution, Bill of Rights, Laws and a lot of caring and rebellious people changed the way things were in the USA. From 1963 to present this has been done without a lot of bloodshed and things are a lot better now. Though not perfect it is a LOT better then, let?s say, 1959 and earlier.
Citizens in a democracy also have responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is to choose their leaders. Another is to keep informed about what is going on with their government. It is also the responsibility of citizens to help make their community and neighborhood good places in which to live. A democracy needs active citizens in order to work. There are many ways to take part in a democracy some of which include voting, communicating with elected officials, volunteering, communicating with your friends and neighbors about the political process and how democracy is supposed to work and getting the media involved and convincing them to do their job correctly. Democracy stands for popular rule. Popular rule implies mass involvement of people in the political process. Mass involvement of people necessitates rules and laws and an agency to enforce it. Here lies the relevance of police in a democracy.
First lady Laura Bush said, "We must be mindful though, that democracy is more than just elections," she said. "The survival of a free society ultimately depends on the participation of all its citizens, both men and women."
I would suggest that you study the history of the DR from 1980 to present. In those last 25 years has the DR suffered any crisis? During these crisis?s what was the political party in control? When the DR rebounded which political party was and is in control?
George Santayana said ?Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
You have witnessed what your representatives have and have not done for the DR in the last 25 years. Elections are next year and if you are not happy with the way things have been done in the past then it is time to become involved to bring about change.
A ?silent majority? is death to a true democracy!
