by MARGARET KIMBERLEY
Most Americans are convinced, mistakenly, that they live in a democratic nation. The idea of democracy is upheld with reverence, making it one of the most cherished of all mythologies, but its true meaning is obscured in a country where money is king. There have been many times in history when America was anything but democratic, when the country’s original inhabitants were slaughtered, or when millions were enslaved, or during the reign of Jim Crow and lynch law, or when women couldn’t vote. We are accustomed to thinking that because those days are over, we continue to make progress and that our country is improving over time.
It is true that we elect office holders, and have a Constitution which guarantees certain rights to individuals and a judiciary system designed to protect those rights. It appears that all of the ingredients which define a free society are right here in the United States. But if measured against criteria which show the full breadth of personal freedom, it quickly becomes clear that the United States is becoming less and less democratic by the day.
Does voting make a difference if the choices are predetermined by people not accountable to the citizens? Successful candidates for even minor public offices need to raise money in order to succeed at the ballot box. They become beholden to their contributors and don’t bite the hands that feed them.
Here in New York State, it was recently revealed that Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo used his rich friends to influence the legislative session via the Committee to Save New York. The phoney and grandiose name describes a $17 million campaign slush fund, which is used to promote Cuomo’s legislative agenda. The CSNY was the biggest spender of all lobbyists in New York State last year, making sure that Cuomo’s campaign for austerity and union busting won out in the legislature.
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