Hey MTV Welcome to “American Democracy”
People move to America from across the globe looking for a better life with more freedom and democracy. However, we may not have the democracy that they were looking for.
They may have been looking for a place in which people are not discriminated against based on race. They may have been looking for a place that welcomes immigrants of all religions. They may have been looking for a place where wealth does not guarantee power. Sorry, but this place does not exist.
Why does this place not exist you may ask? Some amount of inequality is inevitable. Whether you are president of a corporation or president of your school there will always be people with more power than you and less power than you socially, politically, and economically. If the main principle that defines democracy is equality, you cannot call America a democracy because there is too much inequality.
On January 3rd, 2016, a group of anti-government white-armed men took over a federal reserve in Oregon. They claim that the government is abusing their federal right by having authority over a massive amount of land. They believe that the government took away land from individuals, and now citizens must fight back in order to restore their rights. Unlike many cases we’ve seen in United States this past year, the government took no action against these white-armed men, which became a nationwide controversy.
White-armed men are seen as patriots for having guns, whereas blacks that carry guns are seen as “thugs.” This is due to the massive inequalities among race in the America.
Blatantly bigoted views seem to be openly tolerated and promoted even by the potential President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump. Mr. Trump has been seen encouraging inequality throughout America. He proposed a ban to prevent Muslims from entering the United States in response to concerns of terrorism.
The irony is that nobody in America is a true “American.” We all immigrated here whether it was ourselves, our parents, our grandparents, or our great-grandparents. We are a country containing people of different races, religions, ideologies, and so much more. To exclude immigrants based on religion is going against the democratic principles that we, as Americans, claim to stand for.
How can we call America democratic if white “patriots” rule over everything and everyone? Do we live in a system of real equality if people are treated differently based on their religion?
There are various definitions for democracy. I think that a true democracy is a government in which everyone’s voices are heard and equality is valued. The final result of a process is what people are left with, so no matter how democratic the steps may be, if the end result is not democratic, then it is hard to believe that you live in a democratic system.
This belief that the end result is the most important stems from the ideology created by Howard Zinn, prominent historian. Zinn describes democracy as an ideal state and it can be measured in equality. He makes a good point that democracy does not affect what we, as people, care about. We care about the final goal being achieved.
Although America is not a true democracy, it is the best system that exists. As we grow and change as a nation there is hope that we will become more democratic than we are now.
The question remains: do you think America has the capability to ever be truly democratic?