Democracy in Peril
Democracy is about PEOPLE, not PARTIES, and therein lies a truth not promoted by any Party: Political Parties are not about representing PEOPLE, they are about consolidating POWER.
United States is NOT a democratic form of Government. It is a “republic” whose representatives are “democratically” elected. This means that power is held by the “Party-In-Power”, not the People.
Combine with the Two-Party system, political mechanisms that remove People from Political participation highlight the shortcomings of the constitution in great relief: Polarization of power between two competing groups whose interests are Power & Wealth, not good democratic representation.
The fight for Power now rests upon rules designed to perpetuate the party in Power, and prevent rise of other political parties. These rules start at the elective level where Plurality is valued over Consensus because it simplifies, speeds, and secures elective decisions for the incumbent. Rules extend to election campaign fund raising and spending that subvert elective processes with excesses of money, not from constituents supporting a candidate, but from special interests seeking party influence. The result is a Hobson’s choice of diluted participation with an established party or a Quixotic position of standing alone and powerless.
When political power is stymied by legislative stalemate or constitutional barriers, special interest circumvents legislative process through the courts with manufactured legal battles designed to establish law through courts instead of the Congress. This takes money and results in access to this form of government change limited to those with money and a special interest to achieve a specific set of legal rules.
What was once, or theoretically at least, a government of the People, by the People, for the People, has been subverted for those seeking fame, fortune, or oppression (Remember: one man’s “advantage” is another man’s “oppression”) into a contest of money, influence, and subversion.
OUR Democracy is in Peril!
While the Constitution has served well during the era of poor communications and education, the United States entered a new era in the late 20th century when Computer networks and communications eliminated the separation between constituents and their government traditionally controled by the elected representative.
Elected representatives are NOT interested in the evolution of political awareness that modern communications have enabled. Constituents are now AWARE of what a representative does, and clearly have access to the motivating factors, either through the press or through direct investigation. We all have access to (most) financial reports of money spent on party or political activities and can infer the motivations behind a politician’s actions. And politicians do not seem to be in the least interested in constituent positions when those positions threaten their standing in their party who sponsors their elections to powerful positions.
When People lose their voice in their government, it ceases to be a democracy, and becomes a pure republic representing the interests of the leadership and NOT the People.
It is time to establish the democratic weaknesses in the United States form of Government, and seek to correct them BEFORE the ability to establish a Democracy is lost.