It is the system, stupid!
Many Americans of all ideologies believe the American politicians, particularly in Washington, are not doing their jobs.
Given the importance the US has for the free world, and the threat the Chinese totalitarians pose for freedom and human dignity, with their combination of Nazi-style capitalism and communist authoritarianism, it is urgent that US democracy renew itself. If US democracy dies, it is sayonara to all other democracies because they would turn into vassals of the new totalitarians; vassals do not have dignity, it is barely a step above slavery.
For all its problems, I still believe democracy will defeat the totalitarians and that the current Chinese regime will go the way of the Nazis or the Soviet Union, hopefully with a transition to China-Taiwan style democracy. But i believe we should not take any chances; democracy can die if not strong enough, that is what happened to Ancient Greek direct democracy; it did not resuscitate until, in the Renaissance, Europe reconnected to its Greek roots and started to ditch the totalitarian Church and its ideas, although the job is not complete, but that is another issue.
By the way, China-Taiwan democracy is now more democratic than most representative democracies, including the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, etc. This is because they have introduced at the national level Swiss-style direct or ,more accurately, semi-direct democracy.
In 2018, Pew Research conducted a study on the state of US democracy. Liie many other surveys of this nature, it confirms what many Americans already know; US democracy is not healthy.
40% of Americans do not believe US democracy is working well.
The survey also shows 76% of Americans believe it would be too risky to give presidents more power. I agree. Unfortunately, the survey did not ask Americans if both, the President and Congress already have too much power over the American people.
The survey also shows that voters on the Left and the Right who like politicians who reach compromises are now in the minority. Polarisation is not good for democracy.
Most Americans, the survey does not say how many, believe politicians should should heed the will of the majority. The survey does not say if politicians do that now; I suspect millions of Americans believe politicians do not heed the will of the majority of Americans. I would not be surprised if the majority believe they don’t.
According to the survey, most Americans say the design and structure of government needs big BIG changes.
The survey is very interesting and you can read it in detail in the Pew Research website.
The survey is very interesting also for the several questions it does not ask.
It does not ask if they believe the President should have less power.
It does not ask if elected officials should have less power.
It does not ask if bureaucrats should have less power.
It does not ask if Americans should have the power to reject laws passed by Congress in national referendums.
It does not ask if American should have the right to call such referendums without the support, approval or support of the President or Congress.
It does not ask if Americans should have the power to, on their own initiative, to change the Constitution.
It does not ask if the Supreme Court should have the power to overturn the results of national referendums (it should not because democracy means “rule by the people”, not by the judges, or the politicians.
The survey does not ask either if the people should have the right to reject treaties the politicians want to sign.
The survey does not ask if the people should have the right to give the approval to engage in wars with states that do not represent a direct threat to the US. For example, all the military involvements around the World who cost the lives and physical and mental health to American soldiers and/or their families.
The survey does not ask either if the results of referendums should be binding for the President and Congress.
The survey does not ask either if ordinary Americans, including people not affiliated with any party, including parties with no representation in Congress, should have the right to collect signatures to force government to hold referendums on any issue 1% of people with the right to vote decide it should go to a referendum.
Perhaps Pew could also ask what Americans think of direct democracy. I suspect the majority do not know.
Pew could also ask if Americans believe it would be good if the media in general, PBS, etc., should hold discussions about the differences between direct democracy and the current “representative” democracy in the US (and the rest of the World, with the exception of Switzerland and, now, Taiwan too).
The Swiss have all those rights. They will respond, “yes we have that, and that, and that, etc., to all those question Pew did not ask the American people.
The fact of the matter is that the problems in Washington and with Washington are not because of Biden, Trump, Schumer, Pelosi, McConnell, Obama, Bush, etc., it is not the people, it is the system, stupid!.
The problem in the US, and in other representative democracies is that the politicians have too much power and the people not enough.
The survey shows Americans believe there is freedom of expression in the USD. It is time for them to also have freedom to directly decide issues, over and above the politicians. I hope Pew ask that in their next survey.
Direct democracy is the evolution representative democracy needs for democracy to become stronger and prevail over the totalitarian seduction, which could also come to America, just like it came to Germany in the 30s when representative democracy divided and polarised Germans. Americans and everybody else must know that democracy is not the natural tendency of humans. Democracy is a bit like the circus artist holding in the air a bunch of balls; it requires lots of skill and not too much cross wind…
I believe Americans should have the power to elect and also the power to decide directly what they want. This will ensure politicians will heed the will of the majority.
Victor Lopez
