tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5461044.post4200805887309699629..comments2023-10-24T11:03:41.388-05:00Comments on ladypoverty: What women can do for your countryJ.R. Boydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09076895859826581960noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5461044.post-29750158841928764872009-12-03T23:22:10.488-05:002009-12-03T23:22:10.488-05:00Public anger is ultimately directed at one target ...Public anger is ultimately directed at one target or another. Ours is to ensure it is pointed in the right direction -- not back at ourselves.JRBhttp://ladypoverty.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5461044.post-47778005138101994282009-12-02T13:38:40.463-05:002009-12-02T13:38:40.463-05:00I like his notion that the National Government has...I like his notion that the National Government has a 'vast moral authority'. True perhaps, in the sense that moral feeling is a perception, and great power implies great ability to shape perceptions.<br /><br />But anyway, to address the issue you raise, while it is true that a complacent public can expect a steady erosion of its rights, I doubt that public anger on its own will necessarily reverse that process. <br /><br />For one thing, if repression succeeds, there is no need for reform, and if repression fails, reform cannot be stopped, or at least the present crop of leaders loses controlof the issue. A partial move in the direction of serving the public interest implies turmoil, where repression has not yet failed, but looks likely to. <br /><br />It helps in that regard if the leaders have before them examples of successful revolutions in other places. To my mind, this goes a long way towards explaining the hysterical reaction to popular revolt in even very small countries.RLaingnoreply@blogger.com