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Brexit tests democratic morality

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By Mark Azzara

Dear Friend,

“Brexit” had to happen someday, somewhere because it raises moral questions that demand answers. Do some people have the “right” to exercise power over others simply because of better education and/or wealth? Does one side have a right to make decisions on the other’s behalf? If so, which side is it? Does either side have the “right” to disregard the other? Do elites have a “right” to preserve the special advantages that accrue to them, thus further disenfranchising or devaluing others? Or are they obligated to share their wealth, knowledge and power with the rest? Must one side accept decisions made by the other when those decisions are deemed uninformed or unfair? Do campaigns have a “right” to lie in order to win? And/or are voters obligated to go beyond campaign rhetoric to fully understand the issues, including the other side’s views, before voting? Do non-elites have the “right” to surrender or entrust their power to elites? What happens when the two sides cannot agree? And who should accept responsibility for the harmful consequences of a decision – the elites who advocated it or the non-elites who chose it?

All God’s blessings – Mark

 

Mark Azzara
Mark Azzara
Mark Azzara spent 45 years in print journalism, most of them with the Waterbury Republican in Connecticut, where he was a features writer with a special focus on religion at the time of his retirement. He also worked for newspapers in New Haven and Danbury, Conn. At the latter paper, while sports editor, he won a national first-place writing award on college baseball. Azzara also has served as the only admissions recruiter for a small Catholic college in Connecticut and wrote a self-published book on spirituality, "And So Are You." He is active in his church and facilitates two Christian study groups for men. Azzara grew up in southern California, graduating from Cal State Los Angeles. He holds a master's degree from the University of Connecticut.

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