For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'
- Bob Dylan
See the paid-off local bottom feeders
Passing themselves off as leaders
Kiss the ladies shake hands with the fellows
Open for business like a cheap bordello
And they call it democracy
- Bruce Cockburn
'I got a statistic for you right now. Grab your pencil, Doug. There are five billion trees in the world. I looked it up. Under every tree is a shadow, right? So, then, what makes night? I'll tell you: shadows crawling out from under five billion trees!'
- from Ray Bradbury's novel
about his youth, Dandelion Wine
I started to write a satirical poem about how the US is not a democracy rather a Demographacy (a made-up portmanteau, accent on “graph”), what with redistricting so as to swing elections, Natives in reservations (though according to a 2017 article, “78% of Native [so-called] Americans live off-reservation, and 72% live in urban or suburban environments”[1]), Blacks in ghettoes, the geographical South, the Northeast, countless thinkless tanks and statistics guiding advertising campaigns, decisions about where to plunk down yet another 7-Eleven/Starbucks, who watches what TV shows, and on and on. It’s not done with mirrors (the “deciders” couldn’t bear the sight of themselves) rather with demographics. Web-searching I found an actual word I wasn't familiar with, and the poem turned into an essay:
“Demography is the statistical study of populations, including of human beings. As a very general science, it can analyze any kind of dynamic living population, i.e., one that changes over time or space (see population dynamics).”[2]
“Population dynamics is the branch of life sciences that studies the size and age composition of populations as dynamical systems, and the biological and environmental processes driving them (such as birth and death rates, and by immigration and emigration). Example scenarios are ageing populations, population growth, or population decline.”[3]
As with the “Engineering Of Consent,”[4] the title of a 1955 book by the father of public relations, Edward Bernays, US Demographacy instills a take-a-number and wait-in-line numbing of the masses; in the eyes of the movers-and-shakers, the people are seen as branded cattle statistics. As for so-called minorities, a potential shift is in the works, a shift which could prove Dylan's song lyric correct: “The US will become ‘minority white’ in 2045, Census projects”[5]
The current format of US Demographacy is based on divide-and-rule, yet updated includes, label-and-rule. Another danger of US Demographacy is that it isolates statistical assessments and doesn't indicate how populations interact with other populations. Yet, with respect for each culture, tradition, and people, demographic statistics can be used for enhancing well-being rather than for control and profit at the expense of Mother Nature.
“Cheyfitz referred, for example, to University of New Mexico educator Gregory Cajete's theory of "natural democracy," in which "all of nature, not only humans, has rights." Natural democracy is "kin-based" without distinctions between nature and culture, and humans and animals, said Cheyfitz. In most native languages, he said, animals are referred to only by their specific names, as there are no generic words for animals, suggesting a partnership and respect between humans and animals.”[6]
If you read between the lines, some demographics and statistics reveal the bigger picture. For example: Why are Indigenous Peoples worldwide too-often left out of the news conversations and with regard to environmental/climate issues? Because they are the caregivers of much of the remaining pristine land and on the front lines of where mega-corporation hungry ghosts drool over extractive resources (while steering the shell-game news to other topics). From a 2018 article:
“A recent analysis showed 370 million indigenous peoples have rights or claims to over 25% of the world’s land area which includes two-fifth of the world’s protected and reserved zones, mostly unrecognized.”
“The researchers compiled land data from 87 countries out of 235 nations excluding Antarctica and some deserted islands in the Southern Ocean. They used five types of spatial dataset: regulatory, geographic range of indigenous peoples’ estates, preserved regions, human footprint, and anthropogenic biomes. Africa and Asia have the highest number of states with the native inhabitants. The results show indigenous communities hold 37% of the natural lands, and the lowest density of land use among these vulnerable population does not come across as a surprise. Almost 70% of the remote and least dense places belong to native communities. But the researchers also pointed out growing outside intervention in these areas.”[7]
Meanwhile, back at the ranch:
“Americans alone are responsible for producing a whopping 220 million tons of waste a year. This number is far more than any other nation in the world.”[8]
“The USA has 4.5% of the worlds population but 25% of the world's prison population.”[9]
And globally, according to a 2017 WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF report:
“Some 3 in 10 people worldwide, or 2.1 billion, lack access to safe, readily available water at home, and 6 in 10, or 4.5 billion, lack safely managed sanitation, according to a new report by WHO and UNICEF. Billions of people have gained access to basic drinking water and sanitation services since 2000, but these services do not necessarily provide safe water and sanitation. Many homes, healthcare facilities and schools also still lack soap and water for handwashing. This puts the health of all people – but especially young children – at risk for diseases, such as diarrhoea. As a result, every year, 361 000 children under 5 years of age die due to diarrhoea. Poor sanitation and contaminated water are also linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A, and typhoid.”[10]
According to the Greek word-roots, “dēmos” is "common people,” and “-graphy” is “writing or recording,” and “-cracy” is “rule or government by” from “kratos” “power or strength.”
Therefore a true Demographacy would enable statistics to help with the process of enhancing the well-being of the Peoples, including Trees, Rivers, Bees, and such like, whereas government rule tends to use the demographics against the people.
With any %, the question arises: Does the contextual information reflect a case of social control (or far worse, genocide) and profit, and if so, what's needed for improving the living conditions?
Emotions tend to affect people more than demographic statistics, yet if more people reading statistics would allow themselves to feel the ramifications, then there would be more energy available for making positive changes.
NOTES:
1. “Most Native Americans live in cities, not reservations. Here are their stories”
2. See here.
3. See here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_dynamics
4. Edward Bernays
5. See here.
6. “'Natural democracy' -- putting life of planet ahead of profits -- is advocated by Professor Eric Cheyfitz"
7. “Indigenous Peoples’ Right To Land Can Help In Achieving Conservation Goals”
8. “What is Waste Management?”
9. See here. https://www.quora.com/The-USA-has-4-5-of-the-worlds-population-but-25-of-the-worlds-prison-population-Why-is-this
10. “2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water at home, more than twice as many lack safe sanitation”
Mankh (Walter E. Harris III) is an essayist and resident poet at Axis of Logic. In addition to his work as a writer and small press publisher, he travels a holistic mystic pathway staying in touch with Turtle Island. See his new book of nonfiction with a poetic touch, “photo albums of the heart-mind”.
© Copyright 2019 by AxisofLogic.com
This material is available for republication as long as reprints include verbatim copy of the article in its entirety, respecting its integrity. Reprints must cite the author and Axis of Logic as the original source including a "live link" to the article. Thank you!
|
Print This 
Print This 