We need to talk about the United States – and its charming habit of declaring itself the greatest democracy on Earth. It’s repeated so often you’d think it was etched into the Constitution somewhere between the right to bear arms and the right to never learn geography.
American politicians love saying it. Pundits shout it. Presidents smirk it. Meanwhile, a billionaire buys another senator.
Let’s get something straight: if the United States is the greatest democracy in the world, then I’m the King of Norway.
I’m not here to say America isn’t a democracy. It’s just not a particularly well-functioning one. It’s like saying someone is a great cook because they once made toast – and even then, they burned it, blamed the toaster, sued the bread company, and then ran for Congress on an anti-gluten platform.
Let’s start with the Electoral College – that magical institution where the candidate with the most votes… doesn’t necessarily win. In what universe is second place considered a democratic victory? It’s like watching the Olympics and giving the gold medal to the guy who tripped, landed in a ditch, and sued the stopwatch.
Twice in the last twenty-five years, the presidency has gone to someone who lost the popular vote. In what other “great democracy” is that acceptable?
And don’t get me started on voter suppression – a sport so well-developed in America it could be an Olympic event. Gerrymandering? Check. Closing polling stations in poor areas? You bet. Requiring seventeen forms of ID and a DNA sample just to vote? Pretty much.
But wait, there’s more.
How about the National Rifle Association, a group so powerful it makes politicians duck under the table at the mere sound of the word “reform.” In a normal democracy, the slaughter of schoolchildren might prompt a serious conversation about gun control. In the U.S., it prompts thoughts and prayers, followed by another donation from the gun lobby and family photos with mum and dad proudly clutching their brand new AK-47s.
And then there’s the billionaire class – those kindly folks who ensure democracy remains “of the people,” just as long as those people own a media empire, a private jet, and half of Florida. It’s government by cheque book, for cheque books, with cheque books.
Campaigns cost billions, and what do you get in return? Politicians who can recite the name of every corporate donour but still call Australia “Austria.”
Let’s not forget the Supreme Court – a group of unelected wizards in robes who get lifetime appointments and can undo decades of progress with one opinion. Nothing says “modern democracy” like a medieval council of elders deciding how everyone else should live.
And the media? Half of it is owned by billionaires and the other half is just trying to stay out of their way. Americans are told they have freedom of the press, but somehow only ever hear the same four talking points – shouted louder, with flags.
Meanwhile, many Americans genuinely believe the rest of the world is a barren wasteland of dictatorships and people who eat with chopsticks out of necessity. Ask them to name another democracy and you’ll get answers like “Canada, maybe?” followed by “Wait, is France still a thing?”
Democracy is messy. No system is perfect. But if you’re going to shout from the rooftops that yours is the greatest, it would help if it didn’t look so broken from street level.
Because from over here, the United States doesn’t look like the world’s greatest democracy.
It looks like the world’s loudest.
And in classic American fashion, it has mistaken volume for virtue.
Let’s be honest – a great democracy doesn’t elect a president who openly admires dictators, threatens to jail his opponents, undermines elections, thanks God for letting him rip healthcare from its poorest, has photo ops at Nazi-style concentrations camps and floats the idea of staying in power indefinitely. A great democracy doesn’t flirt with authoritarianism just because it wears a red cap and yells about “fake news.” A great democracy doesn’t look at January 6th and say, “Maybe we’ll try that again – but better organised.”
If this is the world’s greatest democracy, then we’re all in trouble.
Because what the world actually needs right now is not a louder democracy – but a wiser one.
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Like many people, I have some concerns with the way our democracy runs here in Australia, but there is no way on earth that I would support any changes that make ours remotely like the one that Americans suffer under.
Perhaps they believe that suffering is a virtue?
Rig, rort, control, corner, deny, rob your opponents, reward your supporters.., USA dumb-ocracy, for the oppressors, insiders, privateers, huns.., trump that outline…and, one’s vote takes minutes, but Trumpism is every damaging minute for years.
It isn’t even the greatest democracy (or country) in Northern America.
Once one could slightly understand American Exceptionalism but now it seems that even the left hold onto the illusion of being the greatest democracy in the world, the same as a child holds onto its snuggle blankie, for reassurance in spite of so much evidence saying otherwise.
Just based on the Electoral College you could never say that the USA was the greatest democracy in the world. When the majority of the people vote for a candidate and that candidate loses to the runner up due to some archaic 18th century system it is hard to see where democracy comes into play. The US is not a true democracy, not when it comes to electing the most powerful person in their government.
Australia’s media is bombarded daily with the trivia of American politics (nothing substantive) thanks to the influence of the Murdochracy and the Jewish lobby. However, I have a few questions for Australians: How many Federal Ministers can you name? What is the name of your electorate? How many states are there in Australia? Which political parties have governing power in these states? What are the names of the state Premiers? Is Northern Territory a state? Australians should be attentive to the political machinations of our governments, state and federal – not be distracted by the illusions of America’s political hip-hop, hype and glamour.
I can name quite a few Federal Ministers, the name of my electorate both state and federal, who is governing states, how many states there are, some of the names of Premiers – I can also name all the USA states and their capital cities. Many Americans don’t even know that DC is their capital.
It’s the freedom to vote that we have, the right to medical care, a reasonable education and the ability to contact any of our MPs to ask questions – even the PM if you want. Sadly too many people are deliberately ignorant of their political power, and simple follow the herd.
The citizens of the USA are so poorly educated in their own system of governance, I believe deliberately so that the ruling class of wealthy business owners can continue to live in the manner to which they are accustomed. That they have now elected a similarly poorly educated moron as their leader is distressing for the majority who didn’t want him, but how many of them didn’t BOTHER to vote – THAT’S the issue. Democracy only works if everyone gets to have a turn and a say. We may not have a perfect system but it’s better than some of the alternatives.