Got Democracy: Introduction

I used to be an observer of U.S. foreign policy as it pertained to me as a non-American. For the longest time I wondered how the American public tolerates the undemocratic (or rather anti-democratic) politics of the United States outside of its borders. From the brazen support for Israel’s outrageous expansionist policies to patronizing repressive regimes such as the Saudis to attacking Iraq based on fully fabricated bases! They all made me wonder: “how many American’s are in favor of such actions” and “why is there no mass scale public dissent?” I know representative democracy does not work like that and not every single act of the government needs to be supported by %50+ of the populace. But when the number of such undemocratic acts exceeds what could pass as “exception,” one starts wondering about the democratic nature of the whole system!

My limited knowledge of the American domestic politics had me presume that the domestic politics of the U.S. government very much represented the will of the majority and that is how politicians got away with having non-democratic approach to foreign policy.

When I moved to the U.S. as a graduate student, I started observing some domestic policies that also seemed pretty undemocratic, such as the Patriot Act, but its prevalence still remained within reason (i.e. what could be called “exception”). So I presumed that my assumption was relatively accurate: ‘keep the public happy by decent domestic policies and do whatever you want outside.’

Since early 2008, when the economic crisis hit America and the world, however, a new reality seems to have emerged in the realm of domestic politics in this country that very much resembles its foreign counterpart. Now that I know more about the people of this country, I feel more comfortable asserting that many of the recent policies would not pass the public’s vote if we were living in a direct democracy.
From wall-street bailout to tax-cuts for the wealthy while cutting funding for the most basic public programs for the under-served populations have left me wonder one more time: “why is there no mass scale public dissent?” In fact there are so many things that are happening in America today that should outrage any mildly educated human being in the age of information, let alone a citizen of a country that claims fame for its democracy.

No matter how in control one feels after voting an official into office, a democracy that is limited to the ballot box is not but an undemocratic governance system legitimized by at least 50% of the population. What makes a ruler legitimate in the eyes of a passive public is not his/her willingness to rule based on public’s interest. Rather it is his/her ability to convince the public that they are the ones making those decisions. Regularly-held and seemingly-fair elections in America are certainly giving the public the sense of participation that is required to make them feel in control.

Instead of philosophizing and trying to come up with explanations on why Americans are not outraged (or at least not show it), I decided to start chronicling the issues that I believe are undemocratic or rather anti-democratic. I will do this in two categories of foreign and domestic. I invite everyone to contribute to this debate not only by posting other issues that seem undemocratic to them, but also by helping me understand why they think American’s do not feel that their democracy is under attack by each and every one of the topics I am presenting here.