The Twelve Essential Safeguards to Ensure Progressive Democratic Governments!

Democracy is by and large the best form of government for all progressive peoples. But this system could also cause degenerative governments to come into existence when the majority people who exercise their franchise are either irresponsible or do not have the basic mental maturity to discern right and wrongs.

It is the responsibility of the people to create their systems of government. They should not expect that there would be some divine intervention or help for them to create their system of governance. Whenever the governments cause extreme distress to the people, it has been natural for people to expect some divine help. But what they fail to understand due to their own immaturity is the ability that they have to set things right within themselves. Often it is their own stupidity that cause their miseries!

Humans in large groups often fail to evolve collective wisdom for their own good because most of them do not use their divinely bestowed intellect to analyze situations wisely.

Humans do have abundant freedom of choice and that is a divine endowment. However, it is also divinely mandated that they take the responsibility of all their acts and decisions. Wrong acts and decisions by the individuals and the groups could cause miseries to the wrongdoers and also to their innocent fellow beings.

When it comes to the selection of their leaders and their governmental systems, it is the responsibility of the people to use their intellects properly. If they fail to do it, they will face the consequences.

They should chose the wise men and women among them to create the most appropriate constitutions or guiding principles of their governments. If they fail to judge the wise among them, they will face the consequences.

Wise men and women are not those intelligent fellows with the least character. These are the clever ones and not the wise ones on whom they can trust. When the clever ones are entrusted with leadership, they would definitely take them for a ride!

So it is essential for the people to use their utmost available brains to find and select the worthy among them as their leaders. 

For representatives in the legislative branch they should elect only those who are qualified intellectually and morally to fulfill such sacred responsibilities. As judges of their high and supreme tribunals only those who are endowed with natural ability and who have been made wise by replete experience should be chosen.

If people want to live under good governance, they should prevent the following 12 things from happening:

1. Gain of unwarranted power by their elected leaders.

70:12.8

2. Machinations of ignorant and superstitious agitators.

70:12.9

3. Retardation of scientific progress.

70:12.10

4. Stalemates created by the dominance of mediocrity.

70:12.11

5. Domination by vicious minorities.

70:12.12

6. Control by ambitious and clever would-be dictators.

70:12.13

7. Disastrous disruption of panics.

70:12.14

8. Exploitation by the unscrupulous.

70:12.15

9. Taxation enslavement of the citizenry by the state.

70:12.16

10. Failure of social and economic fairness.

70:12.17

11. Mixing of religion with governance

70:12.18

12. Loss of personal liberty.

[ Adapted from the Urantia Book]