I thought I would pose some questions to y'all today about democracy. What is a democracy, and do we have one?

I am going to quote directly from Wikipedia, with a few cuts, here:

"Democracy is a form of government in which power is held by "the people" under a free electoral system. Even though there is no universally accepted definition of 'democracy', there are two principles that any definition of democracy includes. The first principle is that all members of the society (citizens) have equal access to power and the second that all members (citizens) enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties."

The question I am asking you today is, is America a democracy? Do all members of society have equal access to power?

Laughable question, I know. By that definition, America is most decidedly NOT a democracy. But let's dig a little further. If power is supposedly held by "the people," then that means that the people decide what happens.

Therefore another acid test of democracy would be how well the well the will of the people is accomplished.

So America, how well is the will of the people accomplished here?

Stop laughing! You in the back, keep it down!

It is patently obvious that the only way we can see America as a democracy here is to define "the people" as special interests, corporate interests, and those in power at the top. This, by the way, is the definition of an oligarchy, which is a goverment run by a small group of people.

America is absolutely not a democracy. We elect politicians who supposedly represent us, "the people," who then turn around and do the exact opposite of that, and of common sense as well. We, the people, participate in elections in which the outcomes can be overturned by a court (remember G.W.'s first appointment, not election, to president? The Supreme Court refused to allow the votes, the will of the people, to be counted).

We live in a country where vast amounts of money are stolen from us on a daily basis in the form of government bills over which we have no control, or hope, of truly opposing. Where our savings are eroded stealthily, sneakily, as the goverment prints more money, thereby devaluing our savings. That means if you put your money in the bank today at no interest, in 5 years it is worth less--you have actually lost money.

I would like to offer a ray of hope, to blow sunshine up the collective masses **sses, but we all know it's bull. The real truth is, we "the people" are powerless at the hands of greedy, ruthless career politicians and special interest groups and god knows who else at the top. And there's not a damn thing we can do about it.

People say, "you have to allow the democratic process to work. Call your congressman! Write your senator!"

Right! Because we all know how much they will listen to a single person.

So we're supposed to organize and get hundreds/thousands of people to do this. That works--weakly--only when done in great numbers, and only when it threatens the reelection of said politician. Otherwise if you get a response, it will be a form letter stating the politican appreciates your time (gag!).

Take this a step further, and you have people banding together in demonstrations for/against a cause...does this work?

Sometimes. When you get massive numbers of people together, opposing something truly horrible. But how do you mobilize people to such actions? We have all seen "these" people as the crazy demonstrators on news programs, and we know in our hearts this doesn't work unless near superhuman efforts are put into it.

Yet, it may take just that, a superhuman effort, to overturn all the injustices. Consider the words that Thomas Jefferson wrote a couple hundred years ago:

"...When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security..."

We had a name for this document, remember? It was called The Declaration of Independence.

Now I am not suggestion violence. But are we, or are we not, subject to a long train of abuses and usurpations, and reduced to absolute despotism?

When you are held at gunpoint and robbed when driving down the highway for violating the "will of the people"  (tickets issued by cities to increase revenues--i.e. taxes!), when you are threatened with jail and with taking all of your possessions for not paying the goverment it's blood money (income taxes), when your life and livelihood are at risk on a daily basis at the whims of people in charge over whom you have absolutely no control, I ask you citizens, is this a democracy, is this freedom?

America, democracy is dead.