Gerry Myers in her post — What is America? A Republic? A Democracy? An Oligarchy? A Plutocracy? A Theocracy? — says America is not a democracy and not a republic either. She writes:
“A Republic is a form of government in which power resides with the people, and the government is ruled by elected leaders who govern according to laws designed to help citizens. If we believe this definition, then we are not a Republic because our elected leaders no longer rule by law or by what their constituents want. Instead, our officials rule by the wishes of corporations and billionaires.”
She thinks the case can be that America is governed by an oligarchy. She writes:
“After the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizens United, the United States became a country where money replaced free speech and corporations replaced people. Today, average people have less rights and less control over their government. While big corporations and wealthy donors, along with Wall Street, are free to influence elections, write legislation and destroy our country for their own selfish and greedy interests.”
Though Myers doesn’t think America is a theocracy, but she is troubled by efforts to impose religious beliefs on the system. She writes:
“Our country was based on freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. … The Koch Brothers and others are funding local elections to school boards in order to establish a creationism curriculum vs. an evolution or scientific explanation. They want their religious beliefs to be the basis for our laws and government.”
I guess I overall agree with her conclusion: America is ruled by the wealthiest — we are a plutocracy. You’d think this conclusion might have something to do with the phenomena of Donald Trump filling his cabinet with billionaires and mega-millionaires, but the article was written two years ago.
Myers observes: “The Supreme Court has allowed a flood of money to buy our elections, rather than the will of the people.”
Thanks, MIKE, for this overview of what WE have let our great nation
to become. Very few of us understand the complexities that a growing population brings. The only hope for us is for folks like you to clarify the clouded realities caused by OUR inattention and to take time to seek out the truth.