To my mind, the ancient Greek concept of democracy is a useful but silly nicety. If we observe the tragic events of the 20th century, the theme of democracy was totally absent from the Goulag and Auschwitz. So, we might consider democracy as a nice abstract philosophical idea, but not as a ruling principle of events that actually took place.
It's theoretically reassuring to know (if you need to be reassured theoretically) that, in Norway, the following human specimen,
Anders Behring Breivik, might be judged as if he were, to all intents and purposes (as the saying goes), a member of our human community.
Must we, in fact, waste time on judging Breivik? My answer is an emphatic
no. This creature has decided to exist outside our commonly-accepted democratic structures. Today, I believe profoundly that Breivik should simply disappear, as societal detritus, without necessarily leaving any traces upon the radar screens of democratically-based societies, as often happens in archeology. This monster recuses society's judgment. To my mind, that arm raised in a defiant rightist salute should be broken... preferably, literally. That smugness must be abolished instantly, materially. I was dismayed by the fact that there don't appear to be any bruises on Breivik's nice clean Norwegian face.
