Translation of excerpts from Robert Heinlein’s book, Take Your Government For Yourself

Translator's Preface

Starting today, I begin to publish the excerpts from Robert Heinlein’s “Take Back Your Government”, translated by me from English, in the end of the 1940s, guidelines for novice politicians. Some of this material has already been published by me in LiveJournal , but I think it’s wrong to start reading a good book right from the middle out, so I’m starting to publish from the beginning.

In my opinion, the book is interesting because, firstly, it was written by the Maitre fiction and retains its signature laconic bright style, and secondly, shows the American political life of that time from the inside, without embellishment and without omissions.

And, I hope, people like commentators will read it about the Open Accounting Department in the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science , who believe that ordinary people should not be allowed to make important decisions, because, as Winston Churchill said, “Democracy is not perfect, but humanity has not come up with anything better yet.” ".

Disclaimer

The passages I have translated from English from Robert Heinlein’s Pick Your Government are used exclusively for informational and cultural purposes, in order to acquaint readers with the peculiarities of political activity in the USA of the mid-20th century. All the points of view described in them are the opinion of the author of the work of Robert Heinlein, and it may not coincide with mine.
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And now - the book .

Foreword

(In which the accused plead guilty to politics, but makes a speech in his defense).

This book was written as a practical guide for the ordinary American who has never participated in politics, has no personal political ambitions, and does not want to capitalize on politics. But who still would like to help his chosen political structure work better.

If you are worried about the feeling that you have to do something to protect your rights, preserve and improve your lifestyle, but you are constrained by lack of time, money, or the idea that all your efforts alone are useless, then this book - for you.
Even an inexperienced, disinterestedly lonely volunteer politician who lacks neither money nor time can take the government out of the hands of professional politicians and make it suitable for himself - provided he knows how to do it.

This book is written as a policy, without reference to specific political views. I have my own views on politics, some of which almost turn into bitter regrets about the unacceptability of the current state of affairs. And, nevertheless, I firmly believe in the common sense and decency of our people. Every day, much in our lives encourages us to start acting politically, and I want to show you how this is done.

Thousands of books have been printed for those interested in social sciences — on urban design, economics, political history, civil law, diplomacy, sociology, political science, and so on. A lot of books are written about famous public figures. There are memoirs of these figures themselves - such as, for example, the interesting and instructive autobiography of James Parley, and the inspirational story of the life of Justice Holmes, the Yankees from Olympia. I even saw a clever and caustic book about the internal kitchen of professional politics, entitled “How to start taking bribes”. But I have never met a book that would tell how to become an influential political force to an ordinary citizen who has neither extra time nor extra money.

This book is the result of my own mistakes and experience; it is written in the hope that by reading it you will not make my mistakes. If this task is completed, then I hope that you forgive this book for its shortcomings. But you will surely ask me: “Who are you to write about politics?” A doctor must have a diploma, a plumber a license, and a politician, in order to prove his competence, can only present his achievements. I was doing all that I would write about.

I visited the voters at home, organized political clubs, conducted election campaigns, ran for office, was a member of the district and state party committee, attended party conventions, published a political newspaper, spoke at rallies, raised money for an election campaign, sent out campaigns, distributed posts in the government of the winning party, was in charge of the party’s representative offices - cluttered and smoked rooms, and even found that my phone was tapped.

I think all this gives me the right to call myself a politician. And I learned from my own experience that an ordinary citizen who has the freedom of speech and the right to vote can feel his importance for the fate of his country if he takes on the work to exercise these rights.

Robert Heinlein, 1946

Chapter 1 Why mess with the dirty business?

"He who touches filth shall be defiled."
Ecclesiastes 13: 1

“And the Pharisees asked Jesus,“ Why do you eat and drink with sinners? ”
Luke's Gospel, V: 30


This book is about the device and methods of practical politics. At the heart of the book is the view that democracy is worth it to fight for it, and that an ordinary citizen can make democracy work.
I don't care which political party you belong to. Personally, I belong to one of the two dominant parties in our country, so there are half the chances that you will guess my party affiliation. However, when I wrote this book, I tried not to allow any party bias into it, because the methods of political activity do not have party affiliation.

From my politics I learned the following:

1. In general, most Americans are kind, honest, and decent.
2. The American people are wise enough. In order to conduct his affairs, he does not need the Fuhrer, Iron Chancellor, Technocrats, Commissioners, Theocrats, and similar dictators.
3. In their ambitions, the Americans do not interfere with each other. Most of them do not want to be super-rich, seeking only economic security sufficient to support their family in decent conditions, without fear for the future. Americans have enough of the minimum management that is necessary to achieve this goal. They do not care what others do, as long as they do not interfere in their lives. In general, we, the Americans, are not obsessed with money, do not interfere in our affairs, are kind of anxious and anarchic by nature. We try to live no worse than our neighbors, but we do not strive to become richer than Vanderbilts. And we don't love the police too much.
4. Democracy does not flow by itself from the laws and the Constitution. It is a living and flowing process that must be directed by the citizens themselves, otherwise it will cease to be a democracy, even if the external appearance of itself remains the same.
5. Any government held in power represents those who elected it. If a corrupt mafia has seized power in your city, it means that you and your neighbors prefer this state of affairs instead of putting efforts on your own and taking control of your city from the hands of the mafia. The government of Hitler was very popular in Germany, the overwhelming majority of Germans preferred to give power to these gangsters, instead of giving themselves the trouble to rule themselves. They themselves resigned responsibility.
6. Democracy is the most effective form of government ever invented by mankind. History shows that, in conditions of peace and in conditions of war, democracy works better than fascism, communism, or any other form of dictatorship. As for the mythical "enlightened monarchies" and "soft dictatorships", they are not in nature!
7. An ordinary citizen without political connections and money can achieve a lot in politics.

I specifically left the most important thing in the end. Contrary to popular belief, this is true. You can become an influential political force, spending less on a political evening than you would if you went to the cinema that evening; making less effort than the leaders of the scouts, avid bridge players, and enthusiastic radio amateurs make to their passion; spending on politics as much time as Sunday school teachers, members of the society of teachers of English, and postage stamp collectors.

You may think that I am exaggerating the availability of political activities. Of course, I can be mistaken, but I made this presentation myself, based on my many years of experience in politics, after going through many election campaigns. If you yourself have extensive experience in politics, you are right to argue with me, although I doubt that you will do it.

If you are a novice politician and took part in no more than two election campaigns, then I ask you not to make quick judgments.

It's amazing how many people object to the very first item on my list, considering that cheaters are more common than honest people. I can understand how a person who has been dealing with corrupt officials for too long can decide that the whole world is built on deception. However, when I hear someone complain that everything around is a crook, I suspect that he is a rogue, especially if he complains that an honest person in his profession cannot feed himself. I met crooks, but each of them accounted for dozens of crystal honest people, both in politics and outside it.

This can be confirmed by any bank employee. Find out from a friend of yours, who works in a bank, how many signed authentic checks the bank received per one fake. The answer will amaze you with a pleasant surprise.

However, rogues can agree among themselves and sit down in your government if you let them do it. Then of course, it’s much easier for you to assume that, in essence, you can do nothing to remedy the situation. It is much easier to sit in your living room, and, looking through the newspapers, release bitter comments about “these scoundrels” entrenched in the mayor’s office of your city, state government, or country, and complain that “They” do not care about the welfare of ordinary citizens ( referring to himself), instead of leaving the house and collecting a couple of dozen electoral votes.

What good do you expect if you do nothing for it? If you would like to receive a large order for the manufacture of the manufactory, would you really be sitting around waiting for an order? In politics, everything is exactly the same. Do you remember that the government is financed from the income tax you paid this year? Do you remember that your nephew died in Okinawa because you allowed an elderly deputy from your district to remain in Congress longer than necessary, because you didn’t want to understand politics?

Why should the average man think about politics? Why bother with this dirty business? Isn't politics overflowing with crooks with whom you wouldn’t eat at the same table, and crazy people whom you wouldn’t let into your cannon shot? “Overflowed” is, of course, an exaggeration, however there are plenty of people of both types in politics, and they can bring to a nervous breakdown those who will deal with them. In addition, if you are engaged in politics, then your dear friends, who can not tolerate any policy, will consider that you have become disinterested in engaging in politics for your own benefit. They will be firmly convinced of this, because self-interest is the only reason for pursuing a policy that they can imagine.

So why take on all this work? Why deal with rogues, hearing behind them the snide remarks of friends and acquaintances, only in order to try to clean the Augean stables, scoop out the ocean with a spoon and cut down the forest alone?

Because it is necessary for you personally. And because the task is doable.

Democracy lives in perpetual crisis. Its maintenance requires the same constant attention as driving a car in the city center. If a couple of years you do not pay attention to the direction in which your political vehicle is moving, then very soon crooks, fools, and villains will take the steering wheel from you, and take you to the direction that is not suitable for you, or get into an accident and break into smithereens.

When you get out from under the rubble - you and your family, do not say that they did it to you. You did it yourself. Because they preferred to sit with folded arms and doze. Because they decided that in exchange for the paid taxes they received a ticket for a bus that will take you to the right place. All that you actually received for the taxes paid is the right to participate in the purchase and management of the bus.

And this year it is harder to drive than usual: the traffic is more intensive, turns are more dangerous, traffic lights work worse, and there are many roads on the road where there is no asphalt, although this is not indicated on the map. In such circumstances, your well-being requires that you are responsible and attentive more than usual.

Are you satisfied with the obligatory conscription in peacetime? How did the deputy from your district vote on this issue? Do you have children of draft age? Should the budget of your district be replenished in case of its deficit? If so, will you vote for tax increases? Or will you instead cut costs for the army, navy, and pensions for veterans? Are there any other ways to balance the budget?

Should miners be banned from striking? Can you mine for them coal? Do you know how much you will pay for heating your house if you do not regulate the tariffs? Or you still do not have your own home, and rent an apartment? Will you ever build your own house? If so, can you contain it? Are there any restrictions on the use of new building materials and technologies in your city?
Should our country give a loan to England? France? Russia? Do you agree to the introduction of food supply standards in our country to save Germany from the threat of starvation? How long should our occupation of Japan last? Why?

How did your congressman vote on adopting a law to abolish racial discrimination? Do you know what the law is and how it can affect your life?

This year, the Philippines gained independence - should we help them grow by canceling import duties on Philippine sugar? Or maybe you live in Colorado, where they grow sugar beets?

Is deliberately delaying the adoption of laws by the Senate as a legitimate way to protect the rights of states, or is this a prohibited measure?

Is it possible to entrust the oil owners with the management of strategic oil reserves for our army and navy?

Was Albert Fall, involved in a scandal over frauds with these stocks, linked to the oil owners?

Should we insist that Russia give our journalists free access to the country and the opportunity to report news from there without censorship, so that we know what is happening there? Is it worth the effort?

Does the UN need the Big Five of countries that have veto power over UN resolutions? What is the right of veto for peaceful or military purposes?

Should Russia withdraw its troops from Iran? And England from Egypt? And the USA from Korea? Are these three cases similar, or are they completely different?

Does the Chinese communist look like Brooklyn? If so, what is it like? If not, what is the difference?

What is the American way of life? Does it mean for residents of prestigious neighborhoods the same thing as for slum dwellers? Are you sure of your answer? Are we not all sailing in the same boat? Do you think the atomic bomb will sort out who has the most bank account and who is in which party?

And so, we come to the most important. All other questions before were from the kind of problems with which we somehow somehow managed to deal with the last one hundred and seventy years.

In the same year, we are dealing with such an acute, and even double-edged crisis, which we have never had before, a crisis worse than Pearl Harbor and the Civil War of 1861.

One side of the crisis is political and economic. Our political system has rivals in the form of revolutions in all corners of the globe. We can start persecution and persecution of their supporters, fall into hysterics, try to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world, or we can strengthen our political system and protect it, showing its real achievements. A well-fed, good-working and reliable roof over his head is an difficult target for propaganda. But if the same American starves for seven days, the consequences are obvious.

The other side of the crisis is not so obvious, but much more dangerous. The Atomic Era has come, and we have not realized it yet. Did you read the Smith report? Do you know what this document is? This is a report on the atomic bomb prepared by the famous physicist GD Smith, his full name: “Atomic Energy for Military Purposes”; you can buy it at any bookstore for one dollar twenty five cents. It is rather boring, but it is written clearly, being, in my opinion, the most important document for mankind since the time of the Sermon on the Mount.

I will not explain why it is so important for you to read it. In the end, whether you read it or not is your business. After all, you are a free American citizen, at least for the time being a free one. And, if you're lucky, you will remain so for another five to ten years. Whether you and your family live longer depends on how you interpret the contents of the Smith report, and you must do it yourself, no guardian angel will help here.

So find this document and read it carefully. And after that, take a list of candidates for this year’s election and study it carefully. If after that you make the right decision, then there is a chance that the stars and stripes will still fly over our country of brave and free people. Just a chance.

Now get to work: you have a thing to do.

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28 final