As many observers know, every civilization has its birth, adolescence, maturity, old age, and demise. When examining history, societies that were once dominant have fallen. So, like everything else, there is growth and change regarding world governments.
Is the failure of American democracy next?
The one socio-political trait that has set the United States apart from other countries around the world has been the adoption of a very effective Constitution and a democratic system of government. This system has been so lauded that it has become, for many, the ideal system to emulate. Moreover, the U.S. in its position of world supremacy has used the notion of helping to spread our form of democracy to countries around the world, and has gone to war in order to ensure its spread.
That last point is very ironic, considering the fact that the U.S. has been subverting its so-called democratic principles for quite a while. The situation is so dire that younger people are becoming more and more disenchanted. It is patently obvious that our leaders, especially the current one, are sabotaging democratic principles.
Midterm elections are just around the corner, and there are a record number of women and minorities running for office. But as the complexion and gender of those participating in the system increases, so is the obvious abuse of citizenship rights increasing. Instances of voter suppression are through the roof, and there are varied and sundry strategies to keep people away from the polls.
In the state of Georgia where there is a real possibility of electing the first African American female governor, more than 50,000 people are in jeopardy of losing their right to vote, most of them African American. In another instance, a large group of African American senior citizens, on the way to vote, were ordered off the bus, thereby attempting to keep them away from the polls. Some areas are demanding that signatures on official documents like drivers licenses, for example, EXACTLY match those on their voter registration applications. This is ludicrous, since on any given day, a person’s signature may change from moment to moment depending upon changing moods.
Requiring multiple pieces of identification, including picture IDs from certain minority populations, also thwarts people’s attempts to vote. One of the most ridiculous, yet blatant voter suppression methods is that of requiring Native Americans who live on reservations to possess a certain kind of identification which the powers that be know that they do not have!
One of the more sinister methods of voter suppression is that of circulating the meme that your individual vote doesn’t count. If voting didn’t mean anything, why would there be such a concerted effort to keep Black people from voting?
The downside of all of this is that the world is watching as America, the so-called best example of a democratic system, has been diminished in the eyes of the world. We have become the laughingstock of nations as others watch the blatant disregard for civility and human rights that is happening here. The current administration has turned out one lie after another in an attempt to smear all types of people and has been successful in ignoring demands of citizens while bullying fellow party members into compliance with obvious deleterious policies.
Our youth see this, and it becomes very difficult to convince them that voting is an essential practice in order to protect their rights. They watch the toxic antics of an immoral and immature administration tear down the walls of decency with seeming impunity.
If this trend continues, what has been going on under the guise of American democracy will reveal itself for what it is attempting to become – a ruthless, draconian regime with no regard for any humanity who is less than wealthy, and the creation of an underclass minimum wage slave pool to serve the elite.
Vigilance is required, almost more than any other time in American history, to keep this from happening. We are at a crossroads, and what people do at the ballot box will determine our outcomes. Because of this, we must vote while we still have the chance, like our lives depend upon it, because it does! A Luta Continua.
