An aspect of totalitarian regimes is that while there may be voting, there is no choice. The ruling party puts forward “the candidate” to be ratified.
The current effort in the US by the two major parties and the press to limit discussion and reduce the number of candidates early is not a good sign for democracy. The elections are not till November, the conventions are not till summer. Already the “candidates” have been winnowed to three and pressure is mounting on Hillary Clinton to withdraw.
I want to state clearly that I do not personally support Clinton, but I am opposed to the effort to get her to withdraw. In fact, I want to see more candidates and more media coverage of them.
I would love to see a field of candidates going into lively, noisy conventions where issues were debated and views were aired and a final consensus reached. That is what democracy is.
We in the US have allowed the corporate media, who have been in league with the authoritarian Bush regime, to choose our candidates. When are we going to demand real democracy here? Have we completely forgotten what it looks like?
Democracy Demands Discussion and Disagreement
Posted in The WIP Talk, Uncategorized
Nancy, what you are saying is so important. Aren’t noisy conventions, debating issues, and reaching concensus the US democratic way? Please keep posting. Your thoughts on democracy are clear and right on point.