Endtown by Aaron Neathery for August 27, 2013

Except that Jake Jackrabbitb and Aaron Marx gamed the system…

Cooper, when you run out of booze and then sober up… the system you hate will still be there.

I don’t think it’s fair to say that the system is what Cooper hates; the system is only able to destroy when “the fools who let them…” permit it.

How about this: "Cooper for mayor! He’s a bit of everything…literally! "

Won’t the politicians and autocrats game the system, no matter what it is? Or at least try.

Be the change you want to see in the world.. oh, right, these guys have been there, done that!

So they all agreed on jury duty…and you know how people feel about jury duty…

Instead of a large electoral tribalism they traded it for a downsized 10 person package. What their system lacked was checks and balances. The High Council had the absolute say. Right there was the problem….no one to counter them if the decision was bad.Cooper is right. The way to go is everyone get involved. Too many fence sit, taking the dole, and holding back to getting into the mix. Exactly what Wally has been doing all these years. Staying uninvolved. That needs to change to change Endtown. Jacob can be stopped. Folks need to get involved.

Well, the soapboxing is starting to get a bit strong now…

Aaron should add a bar fly, no not the one sitting there looking so sad. A real fly with a beer!

yeah, I remember WAY back when the inventor of the radiation said “use this for directional weapons, bombs will cause the extinction of our species…NO I SAID NOT TO MAKE BOMBS! WHAT THE HELL DON’T! ”

People like to believe that leaders – good leaders – think of others first and act on their behalf, while “bad” leaders are misplaced accidents of history that seized power and made evil out of promise. Remove and replace them with the “right” people and the problem self-corrects..But what if it’s not the man that makes the system, but the system that makes the man?.The old saying is that where there’s smoke, there’s fire; and if a system produces consistent results and those results are negative, why assume that fault lies with the product and not the system?

Leaders serve themselves before all others. Their overriding concern is holding power, whether they – or their constituents – like it or not. A leader that does NOT hold his political strength as his first priority is quickly deposed, by vote or brute force. He must obey the demands of his office or fall..To quote the Yoda: Do, or do not; there is no “try.”.Therefore, the only leaders to persist in office are those who obey the rules of power. Those who do not – for whatever reason – are removed. Nature demands success and punishes failure.

So where lies the difference between the benevolent and the evil? It does not come from the individual so much as it does from the system that commands them. And there are only two systems:.Autocracies, where a small ruling class holds all real power, and democracies, where the ruling class is comprised of a majority of the voting public..In each case, the leader must endeavor to please the ruling class, as they hold the power of removal over his head. The difference is that in catering to the few you are required to abuse the many to feed the wants of the few, while acting on behalf of an easily shifted, unstable majority prevents a leader from being overly abusive to any, lest he anger too many (or drive fear in his supporters) and engineer his own destruction by creating a majority out of his opposition.

Of course, there is no guarantee that a majority-led group will always make the right decisions or even the best ones. Even the best of us can err. Repeatedly. But compared to an autocratic power establishment, a democratic one will nearly always pull ahead with decisions that benefit the most people more of the time.

In Endtown, Jacob is clearly typed as immoral – a character of evil. But if the power structure he ascends is democratic in nature, he will have no choice but to act “good” – to govern in the interests of the many without running too harshly on the minority. If he does not, he gets removed. Ergo, the irony being that the system “reforms” a character of evil, as much as seemingly “benevolent” society might turn a person of upstanding moral character to one of vile behavior..The real question is whether or not a character such as Jacob will try to live within the confines of the democratic system, or if he will attempt to transition it to an autocracy, where his desires – and personal predilections – will carry greater weight. Autocracy enables the expression of evil; demands it, in fact. Democracy acts to suppress it. To rule and be evil, you must lead an autocracy. To rule a democracy, you must be ‘good.’

Lenin Out of the Box,Then your theory is that Marx is supporting Jacob’s scheme because being held accountable to the voters will force Jacob to act in a benevolent manner and do Endtown “a world of good”?The whole system only works well if the voters are willing to pay attention to what’s happening and then take the trouble to vote in EVERY election. The trouble with our democracy is that only those who are passionate about politics (Liberals & Conservatives) vote in primaries and elections. As a result, the politicians are beholden to each party’s wing nuts and are unable to meet in the center and compromise to get things done.

I am hoping that Marx’s cryptic comments mean that Jacob’s removal of the council is leading to someone OTHER THAN Jacob as the leader of a new system.

So…When Jackrabbit gets elected, the people will need someone to keep an eye on him…And someone else to keep an eye on whomever is chosen to watch over Jackrabbit…And another person to watch over the person hired to watch the person watching Jackrabbit…And another person to…OK… I see the pattern here…

There is more to “democracy” than titles and slips of paper. You have to distinguish between true democracies and those that use a pretty mask as a facade for darker works. Autocracy is the rule, not the exception, and corruption, oppression, and poverty are each and all its calling cards.

The people may have willingly elected Hitler, but that moment also marked the end of democratic function within the state. .Adolf was no fool, and acted quickly to subvert the system and convert it to an autocracy ruled by a small governing elite. You will note there were no more “elections” afterwards, unless, perhaps, you include operation Valkyrie – a rather ‘explosive’ decision, da?

Egypt is a laugh. The ruling elite – the bureaucrats and military generals – never surrendered the reins of power. When it became clear Mubarak was losing control of the situation, they dumped him. The people made a choice at the ballet box, and whatever you might think of that choice, it was their choice and it, too, was quickly subverted by the ruling elite. Mubarak’s old friends even bankrolled the “revolutionaries.” Now Mubarak is free and the old cronies rule the roost in open daylight once again..You would call this democracy? or a sham, a pretense to cover a harsher truth that people dare not face. Much the same is true for Iraq, Afghanistan, and – beyond any distinguishable doubt – Russia.

Again, it’s not the names or the ploys of face that count. What matters is the structure of power behind the throne – either diversified as in a democracy, or concentrated in the hands of a very, VERY small minority. Tens, hundreds, or thousands at the most.

The fundamental rule in a true democracy is that only those who vote, count. The leadership is only beholden to the majority of those who vote – not even those who are registered or can be registered. The fewer who vote, the fewer who matter, and the closer you slide to virtual autocracy. And you will quickly begin to note its effects..Not acting is as much a choice as taking action. People who do not vote in a democracy are “voting” for autocratic rule and oppression, whether they intend it or not. Power does not care..Those with power, rule. Those without, do not.

In terms of Endtown … Marx jumps between dimensions and took a glass of “oracle water” during his last appearance. He said trouble was coming and Jacob the leader Endtown needed. Clearly, he knows something. Jacob and his motivations are nothing. Jacob is merely the means to Marx’s end..

Marx said that trouble was coming and that Jacob was the leader Endtown needed. Considering his wacky dimensional powers, the apparent re-looping of time, and the cup of “oracle water” he lifted during his last visit, he clearly knows something and wishes to stop it, and Jacob is the means he has chosen to reach this end. It seems doubtful that “reforming” Jacob has anything to do with the decision..And if democracy in Endtown remains strong, Jacob will have to act as that majority decrees – without unduly aggravating the minority, lest he lose their support and turn the minority into a majority – one that opposes him..But noting the nature of the wascally wabbit, it seems more likely that he will chafe at the restrictions imposed by a democratic power structure. He will probably attempt to subvert the system and convert it to an autocracy, where power is vested in a small group beholden to none but itself. In which case, he will have greater freedom to act and indulge in his private whims.

Wait a minute on Egypt, and Syria for that matter. The USA has something few other nations have: Two solidly entrenched political camps, that are occasionally ripped apart and remarried. Morsi never won a majority, but with so many competing parties, about 30 percent was all he needed. In a European type government, he would have to include other parties’ interests to have majority support. Morsi made no effort, and resisted any overtures to cobble together a majority coalition. Lenin Out of the Box, welcome to the Endtown community, we try to keep it civil and mostly free from partisan ranting, and welcome fresh ideas. Many others were perhaps more qualified to welcome you, but the strip itself is fascinating, and with thousands of different viewpoints projecting their thoughts into the storylines, perhaps I missed your formal welcome, and offer mine. Hmm, very interesting, a few years ago Putin tried to delegitimise fringe political parties with the apparent goal of ousting Zhirinovski’s LDP. Somehow the NeoNazi Liberal Democratic Party, beatings their specialty, managed to became legitimate in spite of Putin. Putin is clever, things will go his way in a country that has so embraced free markets, entire police departments are available for short or long term cooperative projects.Everybody! Watch Egypt and Syria, but do not let those distract you from watching your own government. I think that is all I think Aaron is using Cooper to tell us.Aaronneathery@gmail.com is a good way to find out how to support Endtown. Donations welcome, auction site at right has Paypal donation button, check with Aaron on availability of any print or daily strip. The prints were a bargain, and at one time he could cut a deal o shipping if you bought more the one strip. Six of one print, or half a dozen different ones. Maybe you can deduct them if you hang them in your office to inspire you or some other reason. Just buy them, and take the paypal authorization to your bookkeeper or accountant.Sincerely,JusRamblin and typing too much

Hindenberg had a LOT of help from a crippling global recession, and the destruction of a great deal of imaginary money, partly based on expectations Germany would actually pay crushing reparations. Really, if one thought Germany could repay that amount of debt, I can get them a sweet deal on 200% loan to value ratio subprime mortgages for vacation rentals. The housing market is going to come roaring back, people want to get their money out of that money sinkhole they are in now and go someplace safe, like Aspen condos in ARMs.(The above is not a recommendation of any investment, but hey, feeling lucky? Risks may include defenestration, slashed wrists and walking into traffic due to loss of initial investment and all assets, family members and possibly some vital organs)JusSayin

Aaron ~

I’ve never been fond of emoticons (or really understood them, for that matter), but if one existed for “standing ovation,” I’d be using it right HERE to comment on this strip. Regardless of the format, it takes personal courage to speak out publicly. Nicely done.

@mr_sherman

Well said. Citizens United v FEC was probably the biggest blow to representative government that the United States has ever suffered.

Anyone who doesn’t believe that should read Gilens and Page.