by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
Democracy is America’s birthright. I say this knowing that 38% of the electorate — the Republican part — will say at this point “actually…. we’re a constitutional republic.”
The issue with the argument that the United States has never been a democracy is how brazenly partisan it is. This argument on the part of well meaning Republicans — some of whom I’m related to — is such bullshit because even though, yes, technically we’re a constitutional republic, being a democracy is part of our collective self-perception.
Additionally, there is a specific point to Republicans denying that the United States is a democracy — it’s the way they get out of having to explain their coming minority rule. They hate the browning of America and the economic liberation of women so much that they would rather establish white autocratic minority rule than risk losing power.
Of course, this opens up the very real possibility that instead of simply becoming an autocracy that we’ll have a “national divorce” between Blues who think we’re a democracy and Reds who think we aren’t and never have been.
But, as I keep writing, I find the notion that we’re going to have a civil war dubious. I think, in the end, because “democracy” is such an abstract concept and the getting the country to focus on anything is too difficult…we’re just going to drift into autocracy and it won’t be until it’s way too late that a lot of people — many of them supporters of fascism — will realize how bad things are going to be from here on out.
In other words, it won’t be until things get personal that a lot of people who otherwise want autocracy will sit up and take notice. But, by then, things will be way too late, especially for people like me.
