Reflecting on the election of our first fascist president...
by David Davila
The only problem with democracy is that it can be voted away. Those are words I uttered frequently in 2004 when I volunteered for the John Kerry campaign against George W Bush. In 2001 Bush passed the Patriot Act taking away many of the civil liberties Americans enjoyed and people gave them away gladly due to their fear of terrorism. In other words... the terrorists won. Still, I found myself saying it again early Wednesday morning when Donald Trump (an alleged pedophile and admitted sexual assailant) known for his racist, homophobic, xenophobic, and misogynistic candor was elected the 45th president of the United States.
Hence America voted for it's first fascist president on Tuesday night in a desperate effort to change their governing body somehow. True, our governing body needs fixing. It is controlled by the "campaign contributions" of big corporations and large interest groups. However fascism is hardly the thing that will fix it. Democracy is a fragile thing and it can easily be voted away. It has happened in every democratic society that came before us because people get to vote on matters of the treasury leading to economic collapse. There is a great quote attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville:
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself generously out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy."
I don't normally put so many quotes in my blogs but this one seems important, especially when you follow that quote with this famous quote attributed to Henning Webb Prentis:
"The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to apathy, from apathy to dependency; and from dependency back to bondage once more."
In other words, we just took our first step towards oppression. Knowing these two things it would be safe to assume that our democracy is on its last leg. However, none of those other failed democracies had the checks and balances the US does to keep them from deteriorating. Therefore we have proven that with a the right checks and balances a democracy can last longer than 200 years.
That's great.
That's a good sign.
Still, that doesn't mean that we're not doomed.
Actually, knowing that we're doomed can save us from our own impending doom, or at least prolong America's life for another two hundred years or more. In the same way that death must exist for us to appreciate life, oppression must exist for us to appreciate liberty. When a nation grows apathetic to it's freedom it's because that generation of people were never oppressed. Perhaps that is why it was the women and people of color who voted predominantly for Clinton - knowing the chains of oppression in their lifetime even if those chains were small and lightly tethered.
Still I have not given up hope in the United States of America or the idea that democracy can last longer than two hundred years. I believe there are two constitutional amendments that can keep our economy from collapsing, there-in leading to a dictatorship.
1.) Limit the amount that corporations and interest groups can give to political candidates.
Corporations and large interest groups have given millions of dollars to basically buy votes from political candidates. This has allowed them an immense number of tax loopholes and the ability to have any laws that didn't suit them changed regardless of their affect on the economy or environment. Taking this ability away from them would ensure that our government has the income it needs to keep running and also allows for our economy to continue working in a moderately fair capitalist cycle.
2.) Limit the control that the government has to change tax laws. If government officials running for office could not dangle promises of tax cuts to the wealthy or the poor they would have to find other ways to ensure their vote. Whether this was a flat rate, or a fixed rate is something I will leave to the economists, but getting rid of the ability to bribe the public would keep the public from committing democratic suicide.
These two proposed amendments may sound ridiculous or far fetched but the constitution was draft and crafted to ensure that this democracy would run for centuries after the forefathers were gone. Its purpose is to ensure that our children and their children always keep their freedoms without having to fight or die to earn them back. Of course convincing Americans and their politicians to ratify laws that will take away their right to bribery is inconceivable.
Still if the American Dream is real them I will dream of a very near future where we can get the bribes out of Washington DC, and out of the voter ballots so that the United States of America can maintain it's democratic liberties forever!
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