"DemocraZy"

1,0: DEMOCRACY?


THE JUDGE WAS ASTONISHED. "YOU PROPOSE removing politicians from government? Are you serious?"
Joab Tzur smiled at the reaction. "Absolutely," he said picturing how Judge Dwight Cahill would look to those in his courtroom. Thick silver curls seduced his scalp and ears. The rest of it was usually only found in the archives of male model agencies to which dollops of dignity, eclat and an overwhelming measure of fair mindedness had been added. Jab was again struck by the Judge's ability to immediately grasp any subject. Even while listening, he was searching for a reason why and was preparing his response. Not for the first time, Jab decided the Judge thought in 3D time. Past, present and future. All in one? Was that why everything he said was always so concise?
Jab added. "I believe politicians have ruined the ideality of democracy. Ergo 'democrazy'."
"I suppose we're here to discuss the relevance of that word," the Judge commented. Silently, he sipped his single malt then muttered. "'That government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth'. He lifted his gilded glass to watch condensation lines move slowly down towards his fingers. "Lincoln's Gettysburg Address." He sighed and stretched. "All things considered, Joab, democracy is what we have. You must agree. Surely?"
He enjoyed these discussions with architect-engineer Joab Tzur whose innovative buildings demonstrated an astonishing creative adroitness. The man, Judge Cahill believed, was maitre to many disciplines. What, he wondered, had brought him to politics?
"That's what we believe we have," Jab responded. "Examine it carefully and you'll find it is not what Honest Abe had in mind."
"It's a sensitive issue in the world's greatest democracy," the Judge warned gently. "Its merits and demerits have long been discussed. I presume it was the same in ancient Athens, its so-called birthplace." He paused. "Don't take it amiss, Joab, when I say that a critic can only be taken seriously if a reasonable, workable alternative is offered."
Jab chuckled. "I come prepared."
The Judge's eyebrows rose. "Ready to share?"
"Can you spare a week? Or two?"
Again a chuckle. "Hardly. But let's make a start, shall we?"
Jab: "First a precis. Then you decide?"
The judge glanced at his watch and nodded. "There's time before dinner. So lets get on with it."


THEY WERE IN THE HOTEL LOUNGE ABUTTING its Banquetting Hall. The fundraising dinner for the Environment was due to start in twenty minutes. With Judge Dwight Cahill the guest speaker.
Jab emptied his glass. Looked about quickly. His trained eye took in the banqueting hall's colonnaded entrance from where plush carpeting swathed the inner space. Beautifully moulded ceilings added a warmth shared with the lounge. Soft lights pleasured wall hangings then reflected off highly polished cutlery arranged on circular tables clad in white. Some already occupied. It was to be a glittering occasion.
Jab's nose bowed. His jaw clamped as he prepared his explanation. "You spoke of Athens moments ago, Dwight. The 'home' of democracy. Yet we know it wasn't that at all. Athinai, later Athens, was the Attican city circa 310 BCE. Sometime in that period, a tyrant Demetrius Phalereus took a counting and established that Attica had 21 000 citizens. 10 000 metics, 400 000 slaves."
"Metics?"
"Resident aliens. Without citizens' rights."
"Seems an awful lot of slaves," Dwight commented.
"About twenty per Attican. Wealthy citizens had up to fifty which evened out the numbers somewhat."
The Judge: "Where did they come from?"
Jab: "War bounty. Banditry on land. Piracy at sea. International trade."
"Twenty one thousand citizens controlling more than twenty times their number. Hardly democratic," the Judge observed. "I guess it suited the Athinaians."