So… We agree? — Thoughts on Democracy
I was recently asked what democracy means to me, which turned out to be a more mind-bending question than it should considering we, as Americans, are indoctrinated from a young age to think that democracy is synonymous with America.
My literacy on democracy as a concept started with the Greeks. Greece, often cited as the birthplace of Democracy. The Greeks teach us that taking part in democracy is a duty and responsibility. Its what allows citizens to play a role in government and guarantees the peaceful transfer of power between parties of conflicting ideology rather that violent uprising or revolutions (lol), but only so long as you were a white man so that’s already not too great (National Geographic).
As I got older the education I was given to expand my literacy on Democracy continued to rely on the fact that America is the best because we have it. Democracy is America and America is Democracy. In fact, my High School APUSH teacher gave us the most patriotic spiel on American Democracy while we were deep in the weeds of learning about the Cold War.
He told us America may have it’s faults, but what makes our nation greater than any other is our right as Americans to participate in Democracy and our, “freedom to choose”… haha. (I’m not even going to go into the irony of our nations system of mass incarceration and laws to limit access to the ballot in order to ensure that an entire sect of people don’t have access to our “democracy.”)
I remember emailing that same teacher a few years later when some classified CIA materials leaked and my rose colored view of American Democracy started to turn red. Operation Northwoods was born of America’s lust for it’s own war against Cuba during the Cold War. The operation proposed staging a myriad of violent terrorist attacks to frame the Caribbean country. One included sinking boats of Cuban refugees in their pursuit to flee, another was blowing up one of the US’ own ships killing dozens of American citizens (ABC).
In that email I told him he was wrong. That if the US government could play a role in killing it’s own citizens for the sake of capitalism, imperialism and self preservation then we couldn’t possibly be operating under the perfect vision of democracy everyone keeps talking about. Because if the CIA taking the reigns of “choice” whenever they see fit in the form of killing people is democracy at it’s best, then either democracy is not and never has been synonymous with America or I just simply don’t like this “democracy.”
He responded essentially saying “well, at least they didn’t do it.” A lack-luster last-ditch effort to keep the facade he, and so many Americans, have been mesmerized by propped up in front of whatever is hiding behind this perfect “American Democracy.”
That’s when all the pieces clicked into place for me. Suddenly I understood why I never learned about Operation Northwoods in school despite crumbs of it’s existence being publicly known since 2001. But also, why I never learned about Fred Hampton, neither his life nor cause of death, or CoIntelPro, or the forced sterilization of Native Women, or the Tuskegee Syphilis study or the Birth Control trials in Puerto Rico or the countless other groups of minorities that have been stomped on by “American Democracy.” These historical events arrest the illusion of choice that has been the crux of promoting our governing system as the best form of political operation since its inception.
I want to go on a million tangents about all of the significant events and swaths of people that have been harmed by subjection to our democracy but my bottom line is this: the government often fails represent the people and will put us, any American citizen but especially those who have been bestowed second-class citizenship, in danger whenever they see fit. Even though there is so much that we as Americans agree on regarding what ought to be done to make this place better for us all to live in.
This assertion might make you laugh these days where every issue feels like a divisive issue, but the numbers don’t lie. There are areas within every hot-button American issue in which a majority of folks agree. Let me walk you through it.
In the wake of the Chief’s Parade Shooting, Gun control has been on my mind. Specifically the fact that, excluding small wins in mostly local and state level legislation, nothing substantial has been done to protect US citizens from gun violence. This is a notable disservice done to the American people at the hands of elected officials considering 58% of Americans favor stricter gun legislation and there’s significant bipartisan support to ban assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines (Pew Research Center).
To continue into the area of reproductive rights, 61% of Americans say abortions should be legal in all or most cases (Pew Research Center), 82% of Americans support abortion at any time during pregnancy if it’s necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person and 70% of Americans support abortion at any point during pregnancy in the case of rape or incest. Despite the statistics, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision that 6 in 10 Americans disagree with (NPR).
As a New Yorker, thinking about housing is something that makes me want to pass out or get sick, especially when my annual lease-renewal comes around and I find out that my rent has increased by hundreds but my wages have remained stagnant. Politicians might want you to believe that a majority of people are against government hand-outs or any kind of subsidies for areas like housing, but that isn’t the case. Sixty percent of Americans support increasing spending on public housing. Most Americans, my self very much included, also either strongly or somewhat support rent controls that prohibit landlords from raising rents (YouGov).
The last issue I’ll leave you with is the constant fight for racial justice an issue whom’s divisiveness has only seemed to increase in the past five years despite Americas perpetually horrible handling of racial justice and civil rights… We never seem to learn. At odds with our government’s inaction or performative action or active dismantling of efforts to increase the equal rights of people of color but specifically Black people in this country, half of all adults say “a lot” more needs to be done to ensure equal rights for all Americans. And to Ron Desantis’ ultimate dismay: a majority of the public says increased attention to history of slavery and racism is actually good for society (Pew Research Center).
With all that being said, I have a few questions: what the hell are they up to on Capital Hill regarding the legislative action our government is taking that is directly at odds with what a majority of voters want? If Democracy is about reflecting the desires of a majority of the people why isn’t that happening? Even better, why do we keep calling America a Democracy when it doesn’t care to listen to or merley protect the people? How did we even get here?
I have constant ruminations on the hold imperialism has on our government officials and our country’s insatiable need to spread our ideology across the globe even if it means that the true desires of the American people are ignored as a bi-product. That is a whole issue in itself. But what I really want to talk about here is money and how the American form of democracy has sneakily undressed and slipped into the robe of Oligarchy right under our noses.
Perhaps thats an over simplification, but I don’t particularly care considering this lack of attention being paid to the access of democracy slipping from the fingertips of the average American. I still have so much to say about the tactics our country uses to dilute or completely strip access to the ballot box from groups of people that are arguably most affected by the passing of the legislation that is directly at odds with what most Americans want: women but especially low-income young women of color, Black people but especially those subjected to our prison industrial complex, children in schools (I’m not arguing for kids to vote but they are certainly impacted by legislative inaction), low-income communities, the list goes on. But, if I’m sticking with the money the most obvious is true: we need way more constraints on big corporations’ ability to influence elections and legislation.
The ways in which these big companies have greater influence over the politicians meant to represent ordinary citizens deserves it’s own dedicated space to expand upon, but the gist is that these big companies and even larger industries can pump money into the election campaigns of politicians with the unspoken promise that they will do their legislative bidding once on the job. They can also use their exuberant riches to fund lobbyists who will do their bidding in capitol buildings as well. These lobbyists will draft and present bills to sympathetic legislators; they work hard to apply the pressure to get their bills passed and sometimes the words straight from the industries and companies themselves literally become law.
There are lobbies fighting against every single issue I previously outlined, the issues that most Americans agree on. The bottom line is that votes can get politicians in the right rooms but in order to get the votes many politicians rely on Big Money. Once they win their seat, they’re suddenly at mercy to the companies and groups that got them there. This is when influential groups are able to whisper directly into the ears of law makers, drowning out even the largest of screams from constituents for action.
For that reason, it’s really, really difficult to get me excited about participating in this “American Democracy” that kills, harms and outright ignores it’s citizens often at the complete mercy of capitalism and imperialism. An American Democracy I’d look forward to participating in, instead of the constant doom and gloom I feel whenever the words “2024 election” are merely uttered in my airspace, is a true democracy or true representative democracy.
It’s one free from lobbyists and greedy politicians who see “serving the public” as a money maker and a power grab. It’s one free from career politicians and insider trading, but real people representing real people, not corporations. I want to see government workers from the CIA to the Supreme Court transform American Democracy to something thats honest and respectful, operating it in the way that it ought to operate. To protect the American people, to reflect our views and values. I want to participate in a democracy that much simpler. A democracy that focused on the people and the policies we need (and often agree on) that will serve us all. A democracy where the choices we make as voters actually matter.
As I write this out, many of my desires for a new, inclusive and responsive American Democracy feel like pipe-dreams but I choose to constantly recall that some of the most progressive of actions in shifting the trajectory of American politics have started with a dream.
