[PEN-L:223] Re: Helms-Burton

[Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

James Devine wrote:

>On a different topic, after my 12-day experience with jury duty, I find
>myself agreeing with Alex Cockburn and others that juries are an important
>democratic institution that need to be defended (and extended, as with the
>Fully Informed Juror movement). The jurors I met were almost all very
>common-sensical and I respected their opinions (even though I'm sure none
>of them had ever heard of Hegel or Althusser).

I've got to agree with this. I've been on two juries in New York, and on
both, I was really impressed how seriously people took their
responsibility, and how reasonable and careful they were. When ordinary
people are given the chance, they can live up to the democratic
self-governors of our dreams. Problem is, most of the time they're just
expected to ratify the decisions of their rulers, which is why most public
political discourse in the U.S. is so stupid.


Doug