Democracy: The What's Left of It Edition (Part 1)

Democracy - 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. - Merriam Webster Dictionary

Think you live in a democracy? Think again. Yes, the most egregious offense against democracy - slavery - was officially ended long ago. All citizens, including women, over the age 18 now have the right to vote thanks to some Constitutional amendments.   On paper, the United States appears to qualify as a democracy.  In reality, American democracy is now under assault. Attacks against the "supreme power.. vested in the people" and against "periodically held free elections" have been ongoing for a long time. But recent Supreme Court decisions, legislative actions at the State level, the unchecked influence of special interest money, the rampant disregard for the truth, the abuse of the filibuster, and the continuing excesses of the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act have made a mockery of the concept.

Over the next two posts, I'll present my personal top 10 list for the assault on democracy in America. Feel free to add your own or reorder as you see fit.

Numbers 10 through 6 in the assault on democracy:

#10 - Disparity in the distribution of wealth

In this country, elections are almost always determined by the amount of money spent during a campaign. In 2008 elections. for example, "in 93 percent of House of Representatives races and 94 percent of Senate races that had been decided by mid-day Nov. 5, the candidate who spent the most money ended up winning, according to a post-election analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics." The interests of the ruling and contributing classes are well represented; those of the not-so-well-off, less so. How else can you explain the opposition to tax increases on the wealthiest in society and the demand that benefits be taken from the less well off so that we can balance the budget?

#9 - Misinformed citizenry

An informed citizenry is critical to the functioning of a democracy. Corporate media misrepresentations of the facts (think Fox News viewers who thought that Saddam Hussein was connected to the 9/11 attacks) and government secrecy and distortions (think pre-Iraq invasion intelligence reports and non-existent WMD) are the primary bad actors. Antidotes to this toxic misinformation: teach critical thinking in the schools, support organizations like FactCheck.org.

#8 - Government Spying

Government spying on its own citizens - either warrantless or by using overly broad warrants - has no place in a democracy. It is part and parcel of totalitarian regimes. Germany's current president Joachim Gauck, who helped expose the workings of East Germany's secret police, said whistleblowers like U.S. fugitive Edward Snowden deserved respect for defending freedom. Gauck knows of what he speaks. He lived in communist East Germany before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Instead of "respect for defending our freedom", our government prosecutes and punishes those who, like Bradley Manning or Edward Snowden, shine a light on these undemocratic goings-on. Where will it end? Who knows? Just today a powerful NSA tool has been unveiled. As reported in The Guardian on July 31: "A top secret National Security Agency program allows analysts to search with no prior authorization through vast databases containing emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals, according to documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden." See the Guardian article for more details on this latest revelation ("XKeyscore").

#7 - Special interest money

When 80-90% of the public favors a piece of legislation and it is not passed, you know something is wrong in the democracy. In one of the most egregious examples of this, the NRA's political money was enough to kill universal background checks for gun purchases in the Senate. If the filibuster had been broken in the Senate, what do you think the chances for passage would have been in the House where Republicans hold a 34 vote majority? In a political system where money wins elections, where politicians must raise inordinate amounts to compete, where special interest groups are free to lie and distort at will, we should not be surprised at such outcomes. 

 

#6 - Third-party political attack ads

Considering the role of political advertising in the outcome of elections, you would think that there would be some control over lying in attack ads. Unfortunately there is none. An interest group can pretty much make up anything they want without ever being held accountable. Combine this "license to lie" with the shielding of the names of supporters of these shadow organizations and you've got a powerful tool for the hate and fear mongers to use.