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What Have We Learned About Democracy?

The United States is unique among nations. We are situated in a temperate zone that can accommodate a large population. Our terrain, rivers, lakes, and oceans welcome both internal and external trade; we were established out of the human desire for freedom from coercive governments and the need to live our lives according to our consciences—at least to the extent that we do not intrude into others’ rights to do the same. We adopted Adam Smith’s free enterprise principles with respect to ownership of the means of production and how goods are produced and allocated; the freedom to follow our beliefs in our daily affairs is our guide to living; and John Locke’s principle of informed consent is the basis for the essential role of government. Thomas Jefferson articulated our unifying guiding principles as “equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It is now fair to ask after 239 years of this experiment in human conduct we call freedom, “How are we doing?"

Since 1776 we have grown to become the leading economy in the world—but with the most unequal distribution of wealth of any industrialized nation. Many hurdles have arisen to stop upward mobility and to shunt opportunities in the labor market, in education, and in the extent to which Jefferson’s principles can be realized; a vast chasm exists between rich and poor; many deadly social ills also have spawned among the poor and the disadvantaged; our immigration polices that once welcomed others to our shores are now mired in a conflict between our rival political ideologies that is dominated by a constant gridlock; radical beliefs have injected themselves into our religious conversation and practices; while money, lies, distortions, and propaganda have intruded into our daily discourse about most things political.

It has actually been 395 years (1620 to present) since our European settlers arrived and set into motion the myriad elements that are now our heritage. We conveniently omitted the 40,000 years of history that Native Americans fulfilled while residing here in peace. We called them “red skins,” but now that they object to that pejorative term, we insist on using it. But in pursuing freedom for some, we have also trampled on freedom for others. Among those groups from which we have taken much are, first, the Native Americans, then Blacks, Mexicans, Latinos generally, Asians generally, and those from various Middle Eastern countries. We have engaged in wars under the banners of justice and freedom; or Manifest Destiny; or God, truth and the American way. Whether we have been on the “right side of history” in many of these clashes depends on whose interpretation of those events we choose to believe, and on which moral principles we choose to accept. Even our news events and political discourses have evolved into the crunched format known as the “30-second sound byte.” Each is dominated and distorted by large sums of money in the hands of the few.

A host of other issues co-exist with us that portend a bleak future for us and for the rest of humanity. Among them are global warming, too many people, urban sprawl, slavery, radical ideologies, information control by the wealthy, and unbridled greed. Bleakness appears with each projection in that very little is being done to stem these trends. Reversals appear to be impossible.
Have we reached the end or our rope? Are these the last days before Armageddon?

Fifteen stalwarts of conservatism stand ready to take the reigns of power from the last civilized president, while taking their commands from a handful of their rich benefactors before receiving their 30 pieces of silver for their betrayals. Which one will thrust the sword into the heart of freedom and render the coup de gras that casts freedom onto the heap of the vanquished?

One woman and one elder statesman stand in their way. Is one of them enough to save us from our fate? Of the two, the old man is the warrior. His weakness appears to be honesty and a pure heart. Does he have the strength and the time to carry the fight? The lady is now among the wealthy. She must condemn the lavish lifestyle while living it.

Of the two candidates leading the pack of 15 wolves, one is a bellicose billionaire with just enough wits about him to amass a fortune while doing little more than exchanging ownership of real estate papers. The other is a soft spoken surgeon, skilled enough to perform intricate surgeries on the human brain, but unable to use his own for the betterment of himself or those who comprise his roots. One professes love of an ancient book he has never read, while the other lives among that same book’s allegories, parables, and superstitions. Together, they comprise two paths to perdition.

The “great debates” among them have been slanted to favor their ideologies by those who pay for the network time; but changed by the candidates to accommodate their fetishes on the grounds that this is theatre; who come prepared to deliver mini sermons for any question that is asked; to insult the questioners and to blame them for their own lack of knowledge and oratory skills; to have preprinted victory assertions before the fact; thence to rant, rave, and put to rest any resemblance of the term debate to the reality of chaos.

A patriot once proclaimed, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” He could not have foreseen today’s issues, nor its bunch of banal carriers. He might have walked away in despair.

Next year voters will appear at voting booths that have been moved like musical chairs, with opening and closing times mismatched to their lives; they will be challenged to produce documents many have never seen; and those who get past these hurdles will be tricked into voting for candidates who have no chance of winning thanks to computer programs that have gerrymandered them and their votes into obsolescence.

Now that we have blunted, thwarted, and diverted all avenues to progress, is it too soon to proclaim ignorance, apathy, and resignation the victors?