redblueamerica.com

IS AMERICA A GOOD EXAMPLE OF DEMOCRACY? As the US is engaged in a preemptive War in Iraq with the administrations stated goal of “bringing democracy to the region and to the Arab world”, is Democracy, as we practice it, a good example? We are in the primary process of a Presidential election. An election process that most of the rest of the world looks at in wonder and some find amusing and confusing. Other countries, ones that are stated Democracies and ones that are fighting to become, see contradictions to the stated goals of Democracy and the way we go about electing and operating our government. One of the most perplexing fact is that the people of the US do not vote. We have one of the lowest, if not the lowest, turn-outs for our elections in the Democratic world. It is especially perplexing when one remembers how hard won our Democracy was and how many brave people laid their life and wealth on the line to achieve it. It is hard to understand why we Americans do not vote when it is so easy and safe to vote. We don’t have to pay a tax to vote. We don’t have to be searched or herded by armed soldiers to vote. We don’t have to risk our lives or that of our family to register to vote. We are not confronted by officials or the army of different candidates at the polls. We don’t have to travel miles on foot to a polling place only to be told we cannot vote because we are the wrong color or religion or clan. In some states we don’t even have to leave home, we can vote by mail. For the most part, we have confidence that the vote counting process will be fair and accurate. Why is the American electorate so apathetic? Why does the world look at our election process and our form of Democracy with a questioning eye? Apathy reason number 1. Maybe the most important reason is; The political process of electing our officials is broken.Each candidate in the primary process have spent tens of millions dollars each. Hillary and Obama have raised 100’s of millions of dollars just for the primaries and after the nomination the real $$ will be coming in and spent.  That’s an obscene amount of money spent to elect the next president. When you add up the money spent by all the candidates that ran for the nominations and the amount spent on state and local races and the money spent on ballot issues and referendums, we are talking about some serious money. It is true that election advertising has become one of the largest and fastest growing industries. It has been said that “money talks”. That has never been more true than it is in the American election process. Campaign reform? Most every American citizen thinks it is needed and if and when they have a chance to vote on it, it has overwhelming support. Campaigning politicians spout rhetoric about doing something about it, but reform never comes. Apathy reason number 2: My vote doesn’t count. Two presidential elections ago Florida proved that it does and it doesn’t. It told voters that a relatively small state either voted for Bush or for Gore depending on who was counting. Florida taught voters and non-voters that even if you voted, your vote may not be counted. The lesson was, that the electoral college was a mechanism that is out dated and had long out lived any sensible reason for it’s existence. The Florida lesson confirmed the policy of a sitting President loading up the Supreme Court with friends. That election also proved that re-aportioning voting districts are a campaign winning strategy.  Apathy reason number 3: No mater how we vote, the politicians will do what the special interests pay them to do anyway. Every reasonable poll taken by independent surveys on major issues and any time these issues make it on to a ballot, there is overwhelming public support for; Women’s rights Pro choice, Gun control, Protection of the environment, Election reform, Term limitations, Balancing the budget, Keeping jobs in the US, Joining the Kyoto Accord, Healthcare reform. We do not see our leadership supporting these issues except with rhetoric. We saw the Bush administration overturn more than 140 environmental protection laws in the first year in office. We saw Assault Weapon Ban expire without a whimper. The electorate sees a government not “Of the People”, not “By the People”, not “For the People” but a government that is for sale to the highest bidder or the loudest special interest group. Is America a good example of Democracy? I don’t think so. Even the people who do vote, sometimes make decisions based on the wrong information. We have a very poorly educated electorate when it comes to the real issues. All the advertising confuses the average voter. The candidates can not really talk about what is their real thoughts on an issue because the have to temper their speeches to not offending anyone or any group. They have to be careful and not give their opponent a sound byte to use against them. They have, Focus Groups, Spin Doctors, Spin Rooms, a host of advisors specializing on each political faction to advise them, They have “Clean Up Squads” to tell the media what the candidate really meant by their statements. When it takes a 40+ page document to lay out the rules for a debate, is it really a debate. When the American voter makes a decision on who they will vote for based on his or her : looks, religion, ethnic background, wealth, wife, children, is it any wonder that the Spin Doctors and Handlers are needed? We are engaged in a bloody war that will last a long time. Many thousands have already died and many more will die in the coming years. We have been told “We will bring Democracy to this region and make it a shinning example to this part of the world” I contend that Democracy cannot be given to a nation, it has to be won. And it has to be won by the people of that nation. The US has helped many nations achieve some form of democracy but in each instance, the majority of the people wanted Democracy and they where ready to die to get it. Democracy by its definition means “For the majority of the people” “For the Common Good”. Do the majority of people in Iraq want Democracy? Are they ready for it, are they ready to put their lives and wealth on the line to achieve it? Are the ready to put aside religious or clan differences and hatreds to make democracy work? Do the Iraq people believe we are there to liberate them? Most Iraqis believe the US is there to get their oil and to suppress Islam. The rest of the world and many Americans also believe we are there because of oil. Is it the responsibility of the US to start or to enter a Civil War of another nation. Iraq at this time is a battleground of a Civil War. A War that we brought to them. The UN charter specifically bans its members from inciting or participating in a Civil War except under very specific guidelines. Iraq did not meet those guide-lines. So how good of an example of Democracy is the US? The US is the second oldest modern Democracy. We were and could be again a shinning example of what a Democracy should be. Will we rise to the challenge and reform our political process and our foreign policy? Will the American people get off the couch turn off the TV and became engaged in the process? Will we as a people take back control of our government? Or will the “Grand Experiment” end after such a short run. I fervently hope not. After all is said and done, this country and the people in it are the greatest reality show on earth. 4-08