I guess I should start out by defining this term “democracy,” which is thrown around a lot and much abused. As a young man, I left the shelter of a Franciscan seminary and joined the Korean conflict in order to fight Communism and make the world safe for democracy. After all, my dad fought in World War II along with my uncles. They were making the world safe for democracy.
I guess we thought of democracy as being able to elect the people we wanted to run our government. I guess we thought of democracy as a government that reflects the “will of the people.” If that is the case, we haven’t had a democracy in decades, if ever! What we’ve had is wealthy, powerful elites battling it out, to see who gets to make the rules (laws) which favor their points of view and economic interest–with a light touch of “common good,” maybe.
Although he was from a well-to-do family and well-connected, Franklin Delano Roosevelt seemed to have more interest in serving the “common good” than most Presidents. His successor, Harry S. Truman, continued FDR’s program. It was a horrible period in our history, the McCarthy era, where “the only good Communist was a dead Communist.” Crafty rich people used this hysteria to further their own end, i.e. put more money into their own pockets. Few people realize the Koch fortune was made by helping Joseph Stalin set up oil wells. So, our Government had us defending “democracy” by fighting to save a South Korean dictator, Sigmund Rhee, who had lived most of his life in the USA. Our Government repeated the mistake in Vietnam.
This stupidity continues, lie after lie, while the military-industrial-intelligence complex gets richer and richer. Could it be that our political class does not really believe in democracy?
Perhaps our latest election is the revelation that finally wakes us up. We got to pick between two candidates who the majority of Americans loathed. Donald Trump tapped into a vast reservoir of resentment against the “politically correct” snobs who lacked any concern for their welfare. Hillary Clinton and her campaign exuded establishment privilege and insider advantage. The Democratic National Committee secretly sabotaged Senator Sanders’s campaign; Clinton lied about his record; Donna Brazile leaked debate questions to her. The wealthy establishment definitely felt Sanders would win the nomination and the election, thus favoring working people. Heaven forbid that that should ever happen!
Then we had a General Election where the winner of the popular vote lost the election. This is democracy? We have a real fight on our hands to get a democracy worth fighting for. Obviously, not every vote counts.
- To make every vote count, we must abolish the Electoral College. That way, every vote does, in fact, count.
- In order not to get stuck with two candidates no one wants, we need to establish a National Primary. If no presidential candidate gets 50% plus one of the vote, there is a run-off of the top two contenders.
- We also need to hold our elections on a weekend or National holiday.
These structural reforms would help, but more is necessary.
- Our air waves belong to us, the public. All candidates should be given the exact same prime time, to make their case as to why we should vote for them.
- Any advertisement that takes a candidate’s words out of context must be illegal and subject to a heavy fine.
- All candidates must declare their assets and those controlled by their family.
- No elected public official should be allowed to lobby after leaving office.
No doubt there is more that could be done.
Let the fight for real democracy begin.