Democracy?

We hear so much demagoguery in the USA about this person or that person “Destroying our democracy”. The mobs on the left and the mobs on the right volley this insult back and forth like a tennis ball. The “founding fathers” worried about this too.

Before the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, James Madison spent much of the year reading numerous books on the history of failed democracies, sent to him by Thomas Jefferson. Madison wanted to draft a Constitution that would help the United States avoid a similar demise as those nations, which he believed had succumbed to rule by demagogues and mobs. As we see in our country today, millions of people can be easily swayed by misleading media and eloquent speakers. We need safeguards to prevent chaos because, you know, 51% of the voters can still make unwise choices.

Before we dive into this discussion on democracy, let’s examine the word:

Origin (https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy)

democracy, literally, rule by the people. The term is derived from the Greek dēmokratia, which was coined from dēmos (“people”) and kratos (“rule”) in the middle of the 5th century bce to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens.

Definitions (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy)

1 a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections

2 a political unit that has a democratic government

3 the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority

4 the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

Is the United States a Democracy?

The United States is a Democratic Republic. In simple terms, this means that popular elections are held to select representatives for the people, and the apparatus of power is owned by the people, not by a monarch or dictator.

So, how is it that our democracy will be lost?

I submit to you that it is already gone. Based on the definitions listed above, is supreme power really vested in the people? Seems to me that the Republican / Democratic party duopoly and those who fund their hand-selected loyalist candidates are in complete control of this nation. Are there really free elections?

Primaries are used to identify, then crush, legitimate populist (for the people) candidates, and to demonize / marginalize legitimate third-party candidates. Anyone remember Ron Paul and Bernie Sanders. Then only the duopoly party loyalists remain for us to choose from. How often have you entered a voting booth believing you are choosing between “the lesser of two evils”?

You have been convinced that only a duopoly party candidate is viable. The duopoly machine and their willing partners in the media (who reap the benefits of much of those campaign contributions), pound you with tales of misinformation, disinformation and tell you that only the government can protect you from these threats. This government just happens to be controlled by the duopoly. They are “protecting” you from other points of view and they are protecting their own grip on power. You are their useful idiots in this process.

They have expertly divided you into warring factions. They have you believing that one of the duopoly parties is your champion, while the other party, and it’s loyalists, are your mortal enemies. With this mindset you will forever be trapped in this insane vortex. No useful societal progress will occur.

Not only have elections been boiled down to just two bad choices. Here in the 2024 presidential election, we didn’t really even have a winnowing process. A former president and a sitting president campaigned with near-zero resistance. Then, one candidate was summarily replaced with a person who endured no vetting (basically a party-ordered coup). As if this wasn’t enough, two attempts have been made to assassinate the other candidate. Then, add to this the constant gerrymandering of election districts and incessant election rule changes, as the parties try to insure victories in each state. We have clearly strayed very far from the process envisioned in our constitution. Yet, the electorate declines to vote for a third-party candidate or to even seriously protest.

Our democratic republic has already been usurped by an elite class, on who’s wealth and business acumen our elected officials depend. The rise of technology over the past 50 years, coupled with globalization of industry and trade, has created a layer of power that sits ABOVE governments. Make no mistake, these people effectively control the world. With very few exceptions, we are offered only duopoly candidates who are sure to do the bidding of this elite class.

So, spare me the speech on destroying our democracy. We, “the people”, have already allowed it to be destroyed, along with any sense of national community that may have ever existed. What does the future hold? That depends on you.