Democracy – a) government by the people, b) a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them, directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
There were many things I learned from my father. He taught me how to change the oil in my car, paint a house, and even how to get the pretty girl at a party. Some of the things he taught me I’ve called “life lessons.” These lessons were often moral but they were meant to be guidelines for living a good and decent life. One of those lessons involved honesty. He was adamant that I did not lie to him. He would say, “Grown men tell the truth.”
Ok, I’m not going to “lie” and say I’ve never told a falsehood because I have many, many times. But every time I do, I hear my father’s words echoing in my soul.
Our current political and social environments are in chaos. Instances of civil unrest are becoming commonplace, our politicians, who should be daily examples of character and integrity, have no moral compass, and even our religious leaders and institutions continue to fail us. Maybe we expect too much.
We teach our children that this country was built on democracy. Our cherished Constitution begins with “We the People” indicating that our government involvement, our democracy, is what this country would be built upon. Over 230 years later, it’s time to hold a mirror to our Constitution and our democracy.
As the definition by Merriam-Webster indicates, a democracy is a government where citizens influence policy for the benefit of all. Sadly, the only citizens in the early years of this Republic were white, property-owning males. All other groups (particularly women, blacks, Native Americans) in the country were excluded from participating in the government, thereby making them noncitizens. By the middle of the nineteenth century, migrants from Europe were welcomed into the brotherhood of democracy even as the question of slavery was intensifying.
We must face the uncomfortable truth that this Republic was never meant to be a democracy, at least not in the general sense defined by Merriam-Webster. Our cherished Founding Fathers misled the masses before the American Revolution and certainly continuing into the development of our Constitutional era. That generation embraced classism, racism, and believed that women, like children, should be seen and not heard.
It’s still difficult to criticize these individuals. They did risk it all in creating this country. The world in which they lived tolerated sexism and racism and created a system (capitalism) whereby poor whites, through hard work and luck, might reach the level of property-owner. Those are the ones that enjoy the economic and political benefits of this Republic.
When we take an honest look in that mirror, the benefits of class are unmistakable: better education, housing, and health care, just to name a few. I doubt you’ll ever see a Whole Foods in low-income communities. So only those who drive BMWs deserve to have the option of eating fresh fruits and vegetables? The black community has known for decades that a positive correlation between poor diets and health exists.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of not being poor is political influence. The wealthy know how to manipulate our systems for their benefit. Behind closed doors, the wealthy talk about ways to hide their money from the IRS, which political platform benefits which businesses, and which stocks to buy and which stocks to sell. We saw a glimpse of these closed-door conversations in 2012 when then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney boldly claimed that almost half of all Americans felt the government owed them something. So he wasn’t going to worry about them. In other words, if Romney had become President in 2012 he was not going to address the needs of those individuals that looked to the government for guidance in good times and relief in bad times. Why? Because he believed this class of Americans are lazy and only want a hand-out from the government.
It’s past time we tell the truth in this country. The Founding Fathers envisioned a country where only the white-male-property-owning class could participate and benefit from democracy. The system of capitalism was used as a carrot for those white males lucky enough to stumble into financial success, but generally excludes minorities and women (Native Americans still exist on the fringes of citizenship, and outside of those operating government-approved casinos continue to live in abject poverty).
We are a few short months from the third decade in the twenty-first century, and many minorities and women are rich. Some might even be called the “filthy rich.” But for every Oprah or LeBron, millions are living in the uncertainty of this era of COVID-19. For them, this democracy hasn’t been fair. Not because they’re lazy, but maybe it’s because they’re paying off a parent’s hospital bills, or maybe the restaurant where they washed dishes reduced its operating hours.
My father was a stickler for integrity. I hope I’ve been able to model that lesson to my sons and students. Contrary to what Romney believes, a majority of poor people and minorities do take responsibility for their lives and only seek an opportunity in this life, not a hand-out. Our democracy should benefit all Americans not only those that inherit millions from their father. It’s time we accept the truth that our democracy primarily benefits the rich at the expense of the poor.
Later.