Im not American but I want to address the wider point about the western world. The impact of Trump on this and American distinct things are for others to comment on.
There are degrees of democracy. Some countries have formal democratic structures but no free press or judiciary (Russia, Hungary and lots of African nations). Most of the west has these things but with the scales tilted heavily in the intersts of the rich and powerful.
This type of democracy we have now isnt perfect but its the best we have had. Its important to say that it wasn't founded as a result of liberal philosophy or the French and American revolutions. It came about because of the increased power of labour union movements from the late nineteenth century onwatds. Economic power eventually translated to political power as the ruling class had to compomise in order to prevent socialist revolutions and keep their workers producing for them. Women also had to fight hard to get the vote.
Now unions in many countries are weak, capital has power like never before and nation states have much more surveillance capabilties because of technology. Automation may well further undermine the economic and political power of workers.
So yes, Democracy is slowly being eroded and it has been for years. Its not just about Trump or the nationalist right, though they are a symptom and perhaps an accelerant too.
@revenant Its actually our obligation under international law.
Immigrants on average make a net contribution. Almost all work and take fewer benefits.
Deaths by machette is not something Ive heard about and i bet you got that from Breitbart or something even worse. I'm not intereted in debating far right scare stories.
So many people pointing out that it is a Republic not a democracy.
It's basically saying that you don't have a monarch. Its such a meaningless point missing argument.
At its foundation, America abolished formal ties with the British monarchy (good decision) and formed a partial democracy of land and slave owning white men. This was a Republic but not a full democracy.
Gradually, through nearly 150 years of struggle, full suffrage was implimented. This was now a repiblic and a democracy.
The OP is asking whether these rights are being taken away by stealth through voter suppression etc.
@Elessar I bet in your country, you are worried about Salvini.
Personally I think your Democrats are pretty bad and Five Star are an absolute joke. Im not sure who Id vote for there but I think Salvini is at best Fascist adjacent.
@Burnley123 Meloni (FDI) at the moment concerns me more than Salvini (Lega/League). Or especially a coalition between the two, that could gain additional support by taking in the remnants of Berlusconi (FI) as well.
Salvini at the moment is *the* absolute joke, consider that he would be in the majority right now hadn't him thrown himself out of it last year by attempting a govt crisis while he was peaking on the polls (August 2019), forgetting that by constitution the political forces can reassess and form a new majority until the next election round.. and which eventually did, leaving him out. I think he lost a lot of popularity now during the pandemic, considering his constant 180° turns on pretty much everything, from complaining the lockdown wasn't tight/quick enough, to wanting to ease during the peak, to now refusing to wear masks and again to close the loop (fresh of this morning, iirc) asserting that the PM should be trialed because the lockdown and containment measures weren't adequate (!).
Which brings us to M5S, the party that was in coalition with Salvini (far-right/right) and is now still in the majority but along with the democratic party (centre-left). Which says a lot. It was born as the original anti-establishment party but now has so many internal currents that I can't see it surviving in the current form for long. A similar process is happening also with the Democratic party, from which two parties already originated (Azione and IV).
The current PM (Conte) gained a lot of support in the earliest phase of the lockdown, and after the successful negotiations for the Recovery funds; I think he went down a bit in May because people expected the easing of the quarantine measures to happen faster (especially businesses owners), but overall, many re-evaluated him positively, especially compared to pre-pandemic.
I've no idea who I'll vote either honestly, but I think that before the next elections there will be several changes (new parties, parties splitting, minor parties merging, people moving to and from the so called "mixed group", public opinion changing, etc.). A coalition led by the current PM could at least at the moment realistically challenge a right-wing one, at least judging by what I hear around.
@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow we are a Federal Presidential Constitutional Republic. Which is a form of a Democracy. Ok? We are not considered a democracy we are considered a Republic.
@FreeSpirit1 You are considered both a (representative) democracy *and* a republic, guys. The ancient Republic of Venice was a non-democratic republic, if you want, but for sure not the U.S.
supporters of the current swamp monster in charge will call it a republic. It is a [b]democratic[/b] republic and we need to kick out the current fascist before we lose what I served for. That idiot has stolen way too much power Illegitimately so that he had to fire uncounted inspector generals to cover up for it.
I read some academic study the other day which analysed a study of US opinions on just that. I wish now that I'd bookmarked the study, or at least written down the reference source. It was from one of the ivy league institutes. A questionnaire was sent out to thousands of people - selected for proportional representation of all demographic types. The results showed that irrespective of left or right values, only 3.5% of people would vote out a politician who represented their party on grounds of illegal, corrupt or incompetent behaviour while in office. It turns out that loyalty is widely considered in the states to be far more important than integrity and honesty. The politicians have know this for quite some time, and realise that it gives them a high degree of impunity. The analysis found that this attitude was dangerous to democracy, leading to an entrenching of party positions at the expense of responsiveness to changing needs, and leading also to gradually higher degrees of authoritarian control.
@SW-User The U.S. is a republic *and* a democracy, specifically a representative democracy, as per the very source you linked.
No country in this world that I can think of is what is referred to as a "true democracy" (or more accurately, a "direct democracy"), and no sane person in this world intends such concept with the word "democracy".
@SW-User It is true. He won because of the electoral college which is an entirely American creation which has nothing to do with a republican system per se. There are alot of republics and non of them have an electoral college.
@windinhishair It is a sickness. A worship of values that promote wealth as a virtue, no matter what you do and who you screw over to get it. And the idea that having that wealth permits to to break laws, commandments and ethics and it isnt wrong. Every American who follows that creed should be ashamed.. And should not expect sympathy when it all comes crashing down..😷
And you make a good point when you say that.. others all round the world are watching this with disbelief.. how can this happen to America! America a place we all looked up to, leader (at one time, not now) of the free world.. and yet we see a president acting wholly against the best interests of the people and the country, making disastrous decisions and spouting utter nonsense..
That sure doesn't look like a democracy and it sure doesn't look like anyone wants to happen to their country!
@Adaydreambeliever You make a good point that even in its agony America is providing the worlds democracies with an example of how NOT to do it. The culture of celebrity and the power of money have led it up a blind alley into a wall.😷
As others point out, it's a Republic, not a Democracy. Either way, one side wins, the other loses, that's how the system works. Though I do get tickled at the people who whine when their side loses that "it doesn't feel like a Democracy anymore". If your side wins all the time, every time, it isn't a Republic or a Democracy then, it's a dictatorship.
Sure.. Why not? you have North Koreas full title as The Democratic People's Republic of Korea. And thats another Stalinist Totalitarian state where the mindless ones in favour applaud the fearless leader if they know whats good for them, to curry favour.😷
@DunningKruger On youtube a German fellow that goes by Three Arrows goes into the parallels of how the death camps in Germany started out in much the same way which should scare the shit out of Americans.
Democracy is not for the faint of heart or those who seek perfectly organized boxes lined up in neat orderly rows with no room for anything being out of line.
@beaglehunter We can't move, the rest of the world has put a wall around the US, nobody wants Americans in their country. Under Kennedy we went to the moon. Under Trump, we can't even visit Europe or Canada
@independentone i dont know who told you that.i think if you spend a few bucks on an airplane ticket you can.try swimming the ocean for Europe and let us know who stopped you
@JuliusCaesar "The deliberations of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were held in strict secrecy. Consequently, anxious citizens gathered outside Independence Hall when the proceedings ended in order to learn what had been produced behind closed doors. The answer was provided immediately. A Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, "A republic, if you can keep it." "
@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow It’s just a goofy contrarian distinction, made by those who don’t seem to grasp that “democracy” is a stand-in for representative democracy, and not pure democracy - and has been for a very long time.
@QuixoticSoul It always confused me. In Canada if I said "We are not a democracy, but a democratic parliamentary country" people would look at me like an idiot. lol
@Graylight And their eyes glaze over when you tell them that Justice Scalia specifically detailed gun control efforts were constitutional in the Heller v. D. C. decision that our gun ownership laws are currently based on.
@QuixoticSoul WTF are you talking to me about this for ... i know the difference and I know how great it is ... did you read the comment I was commenting on ... I'm done and please don't lecture me
It's not a democracy. The fact that there's an electoral college limits the influence "we" people have on presidential elections. Supreme court judges are either liberals or Republicans.
@beaglehunter What is that stupid sentiment? Love it or leave it, if you don't like it go somewhere else.
That's the all-or-nothing attitude of a toddler. Don't like the way something is being run, change it positively.
You realize you're a proponent of immigration insane something silly name, right? You just suggested somebody seek another land for a better way of life.
@Carissimi Yes, I was objecting with the first «It was never a democracy» part: it's a [i]republic [/i]because it's not managed as the private property of ruler(s) - but at the same time it's also a [i]democracy [/i]because you guys can vote and elect your representatives. It was never a [i][u]direct[/u] democracy[/i], like most of the other democracies outside the U.S.
The much older Roman republic (509 B.C. – 27 B.C.) and the most serene Republic of Venice (697 a.D. – 1797) are examples of republic that were never a democracy, but for sure not the U.S.
I'll save my judgement on that for the end of the year. ... For the people saying "It's a republic, not a democracy", the two terms aren't really mutually exclusive like that. The United States is certainly ostensibly democratic.
