Our Sick Democracy
Why we need to protect the American democracy more fiercely than ever.
W e all know that democracy is integral to the American story. Or do we? Despite the best efforts of Hollywood and the public school system to convince us of the beauty of the American democratic experiment, only about three in 10 millennials think that living in a democracy is essential [1]. I’m one of those three and love this country, but recently, as I began to write an article offering a fix to the 21st century woes of American democracy, I too had a hard time articulating the importance of democracy to life in the United States. I realized I rarely reflect on democracy and the value it provides us as American citizens. With all the challenges our democracy is facing today, some reflection wouldn’t hurt.
In a Pew Research Survey done in 2017, 22% of Americans surveyed thought that an autocratic leader with no interference from Congress or the courts (i.e., a dictator) would be a good way to run the country [2]. One in six Americans think it would be “good” or “very good” to “have the army rule,” compared to one in 15 Americans twenty years ago, according to a 2015 survey conducted by Harvard professor Yascha Mounk and University of Melbourne’s Roberto Stefan Foa [1]. In the same survey, just 19% of millenials agreed with the statement saying “military takeover is not legitimate in a democracy,” while older respondents showed a healthier but still shocking 43%. A full quarter of millennials agreed with the statement “choosing leaders through free elections is unimportant” [3].
Most of us probably look at these numbers with confusion or outright disbelief. Take a look around, however, and we see that these are really just symptoms of real problems in American democracy.
Cracks in the American Democracy
A historic presidential election looms in November. Not only will it confirm or deny the tactics and behavior of one of the most unorthodox presidents our country has ever seen, but it is further complicated by the global pandemic of which the United States finds itself at the center. Yet despite its importance and the American tradition of free and fair elections, it continues to be suggested, primarily by the president, that mail-in ballots are rife with corruption and error (though studies show otherwise, and five states currently run elections almost exclusively with mail-in ballots without issue). Many fear the president is preemptively attacking the credibility of the election so that, in case of a loss, he could make a dictator-esque power grab, claiming that a Biden win is fraudulent. And this is only the most recent of many threats to the American democracy. The 2016 election was rife with red-flag-raising events. Foreign influence in our highest election in the form of Russian meddling was met with brief outrage but no retribution from the benefiting administration. And for a second time in a two decade period, the candidate with the popular vote lost the overall election, reigniting the electoral college debate.
Aside from presidential elections, our country’s democracy still shows signs of sickness. There has been increasing evidence of partisan polarization in Congress not seen since the Civil War [4]. The nation is torn on issues ranging from police reform, gun laws, and even the existence of systemic racism. Congress’s May approval rating was 31%, the highest point it’s been since 2009 thanks to the first round of stimulus bills [5]. Considering that the rating is consistently around 17%, and the fact that we see 31% as good indicates a serious problem. In addition, only 41% of Americans trust the mass media, our source of the information we need to make educated decisions in the voting booth. (Whether that’s a problem with us or the news is a discussion for a different article) [6]. Speaking of the voting booth, only 56% of voting age Americans turned out in 2016, making the U.S. the 26th best out of 32 on the list of developed countries’ voter turnout [7].
Why it matters
These points sound pretty bad, but what does a struggling democracy mean for you or me? Here are just a few important consequences:
- Foreign influence in our elections delegitimizes results, diminishes our faith in the integrity of the political system, and potentially compromises the safety of American citizens.
- High levels of partisan polarization in Congress means more policy differences to choose among, but it also means less compromise and low productivity. We see the unfortunate effects of this partisan polarization most recently manifesting itself in the lack of agreement on another economic relief bill. Looking forward, a lack of federal productivity can spell doom on issues that need swift and decisive action, like climate change, racial inequality, and the loss of American influence on the world stage.
- As we lose trust in our media, we slip closer to being in the dark about the goings-on in our community, Washington, and the world. Our politicians aren’t held accountable to their actions, our ability to make educated decisions at the polls is compromised, and our dangerous dependence on sensational but less credible sources of information like Facebook and Twitter is strengthened.
Each of these trends are bad enough by themselves; together they create a vicious cycle where American voters are disenchanted with a political system that doesn’t work for them, resulting in even lower civic participation and the election of more radical politicians. The proof is in the survey numbers: these scenarios are already happening.
So yeah, we definitely have problems we need to solve. But it’s not time to give up on democracy. It’s time to double down on it, to revive it. Here’s a reminder on why it’s so great, and essential, to the American experiment. The rest of this essay is not only for the millennials that think we don’t need democracy, but for every American. Because to truly understand the import of the problems our democracy faces today and how much we need to save it, we first need to remember why we hold democracy so dear. Let’s take it back to basics.
Why democracy is so important
Democracy is one of many forms of government. We need government to safely coexist on this planet. Government is useful for things like securing our borders; keeping us safe from crime, natural disaster, and foreign powers; educating us; regulating the market; and building and maintaining infrastructure like our roads and highways.
To render all these services effectively, the government needs to be pretty powerful. However, as this country experienced under British rule some years ago, too much power over the people can cause problems. A government with too much power and not enough accountability may act outside of the interests of the people. That can’t fly, since after all, the government’s purpose is to serve us, the citizens. The Founding Fathers put it well when they said we all have certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While we need government to do certain services for us as a society, we expect that the government will not violate or infringe on the core rights we have as human beings.
So government has to strike a tricky balance between serving the people and not infringing on their rights. There are a lot of different types of government that societies throughout history have experimented with. Dictatorships, or rule by one, are efficient, but the rights of the people and minority groups aren’t well protected. Same problem with oligarchies, where there is rule by a few. Democracy, and in particular constitutional democracy like we have in the U.S., has emerged as the most successful governing style because of how well it balances that duality of governmental purpose. In a constitutional democracy, the government is constrained by the rules laid out in the constitution, like separation of powers and the explicit protection of the rights of the people. As Abe Lincoln said, the American constitutional democracy should be one “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Our (representative) democracy is of the people because we ideally elect ordinary citizens like you or me to act in our best interests. It’s by the people because it was American people who wrote our constitution so long ago in Philadelphia. Finally, our government is for the people because it should exist to serve us.
Having an effective government of the people, by the people, and for the people is great. Citizens are receiving the services only the government can effectively provide and their unalienable rights are protected. However, problems can arise if any one of Lincoln’s three tenets are violated. If a government isn’t of the people, like when a country is ruled by a foreign power, then that government can’t be trusted to make decisions in the citizens’ best interest. A government meant to serve its citizens will really be serving the governors. Similarly, a government set up by someone other than the citizens it’s meant to govern will be distrusted. A government that is serving special interests or violating our core human rights is also unacceptable. We Americans know all this, yet we sit idly by as many of these unacceptable scenarios begin to happen.
Get involved
How our democracy is working for us today is far from ideal. We are seeing Lincoln’s vision encroached by leaders acting in their self-interest rather than that of the country and the people, by foreign influences in our media and elections, and by a disillusioned and disinterested public. These are scary times in America, but there is hope. People are organizing voting drives to get thousands of people registered to vote. Several organizations are conducting research and starting movements to change our democracy for the better. And you can help too. Here’s how to get involved:
VOTE! — Make sure your voice is heard by voting in federal, state, and local elections. Make a difference and choose candidates who support changes like those outlined above.
Educate yourself by reading the article I wrote with my dad on reinventing the American democracy for the better. Or, read up directly on the American Academy of Arts and Sciences report, Our Common Purpose: Reinventing the American Democracy for the 21st Century.
Call your Congressman/Representative and tell them your vision for the 21st century American democracy — go to this link to find your representatives.
Volunteer or donate:
- Common Cause — A nonpartisan organization with the goal of “building a democracy that works for all of us.” They fight against gerrymandering, money’s influence in elections, voter suppression, and more.
- Rock the Vote — Get involved to help make democratic participation more accessible and defend young people’s right to vote.
- Or find your own nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving our democracy.
Share this article with your friends and encourage them to get involved!
Sources:
[1] https://www.vox.com/polyarchy/2015/12/18/9360663/is-democracy-in-trouble
[4] https://news.usc.edu/110124/political-polarization-at-its-worst-since-the-civil-war-2/
[5] https://news.gallup.com/poll/1600/congress-public.aspx
[6] https://news.gallup.com/poll/267047/americans-trust-mass-media-edges-down.aspx
[7] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/21/u-s-voter-turnout-trails-most-developed-countries/
