Democracy in America

 

We, the United States of America or better yet, “We, The People, In order to form a more perfect Union” have a major problem. Democracy has gone “Missing in Action” over the past generation or so. Having a capitalist society, as some might believe, does not mean or guarantee that we automatically have a democratic society. Thanks to Elon Musk and Donald Trump our short attention span minds are flooded with disinformation 24/7. This has sewn hatred and division in our Country while lining the pockets of the top one percent and creating a new Gilded Age. 

 

Capitalism is an economic term and democracy is a political term but to function both need one important element that the people living under these systems are free. One might say, “What do you mean, Americans are free.” But are we truly free? Does everyone get a fair chance to run for office, open a business, get access to capital, buy a home? The American Society is not equal because the United States is still an inherently racist and chauvinistic country. People from all over the world come to America to live the “American Dream” and since the days of Ronald Reagan we have strived to make America the land of the “shining city on the hill”, a “beacon of hope”. The reality is we are not there yet, but we can be.

 

Why?  Since the founding of the Colonies and the formation of the United States, this land has been run by white Protestant Men. Now, almost 250 years later the United States has become a true melting pot with citizens from different backgrounds, races, religions, and sexual orientations and we are at the point where white Protestant men are in the minority. Hence, the fear of losing control, the fear of change, fear of losing power, which has led to fear mongering instead of acceptance of change & acceptance of humanity. Racism never left the U.S. and over the last decade the rise of Donald Trump and his MAGA movement has given license to people who have always been inherently racist to come out of the shadows and into the forefront.

 

Predominately White Christians, who choose fear instead of acceptance, are extreme conservatives or Christian Nationalists, who view people that are different than them as “non-human” to justify their race-based actions. Their actions are designed to make people who are different from them less free. This is called Sado-populism. One of the biggest examples of this in history was Nazi Germany and it is taking shape here in America currently. 

 

Unchecked Capitalism has enabled this movement to come front and center with the concentration of most of the wealth in the United States held by the top one percent of the population. The wealthiest Americans were able to influence the Supreme Court to change the law allowing dark money to pour into political campaigns. This flow of unchecked or untraceable money has led to the election of politicians who are conservative or ultra conservative on local, state, and federal levels, including a radical right-wing candidate named Donald Trump in 2016. Donald Trump in his first and now his second Presidencies has let it be known that he and the American federal government is for sale to the highest bidders. 

 

Domestic and foreign oligarchs now have undue influence over our elected officials, which leads to laws that favor the few elites over the needs and welfare of the majority. This is not democracy. How can we as a nation achieve the goal of what most want America to stand for. As stated in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that All Men Are Created Equal” but we clearly are not. The majority of the population, need to change the current narrative and make the United States a “more perfect Union.” 

 

The first step is to stop the hate and challenge fear mongering. We need to start treating our neighbors, fellow parents at school, people at the grocery store as we would want to be treated. If my neighbor asks me if he can borrow my rake or lawn mower, I don’t ask for a background check or evaluate their social media posts before doing it. Why can’t we start acting better towards each other as we do when rooting on our favorite baseball team? Whether I am at the store or the stadium wearing my Mets cap and jersey, people come up to me and talk about last night’s game or where they were when the Mets last won the World Series in 1986.  They don’t ask me, and I don’t ask them, “Hey are you MAGA? Did you vote for Trump?” before engaging in a conversation. We need to treat each other in the same vein. 

 

It is true that for most working class and middle-class Americans, there is more that we have in common than divides us. We need to start talking about the issues that we have in common like cost of food, rent, interest rates, homeowner insurance rates, and gasoline prices. The middle/working class needs to then organize and develop a communication strategy towards our representatives on the local, state, and federal levels to entice them to act on the issues that matter to most Americans and at the same time shut out the outside noise, i.e., the fearmongering.  

 

American tech oligarchs aren’t worried about making their next rent or mortgage payment, they care about how to make more money for themselves.  To achieve that goal, they use their platforms to divide the working and middle class through fearmongering and flat out lying. The way to combat this is through communication, education, and organizing. By dividing working- and middle-class Americans oligarchs not only divert our attention, but they take away our freedom. Don’t let them. A white working-class family is just as worried about paying their bills as is a black working-class family, an Asian working-class family, a Jewish working-class family, and a LBGTQ family.  We need to stop falling for the click-bait. 

 

Organizing and talking about these issues forces the media to cover these issues, which will force our elected officials to focus on these issues. This is how freedom works, which translates to how our democracy can work for everyone. If democracy works for everyone, and everything is equal then capitalism has a chance to work for everyone. It all starts by calling “bullshit” on fearmongering and not falling for hate. It all starts with acceptance.