Is America still a democracy in the minds of its people, or only in the stories it tells itself?

The US never was a democracy. It was always a republic. However in the last number of years it has become a petty tyranny and no I don't mean the POTUS is the tyrant. I mean the people who are actually running the show are the tyrants. The politicians are just window dressing puppets. Someone you can yell at when your property is stolen and your freedom is infringed and your neighbour is shot all by the state agencies.