Signs American Democracy is failing.
This morning, I listen to a segment on how ancient world leaders treated comedians, on NPR. Towards the end of the discussion this point was made:
This got me to thinking about how other signs our democracy is failing.
Besides the silencing of comedians like Kimmel and Colbert there has been
1) the attack on academic freedom
2) the forced deportation of immigrants without due process
3) the increase in the power of the executive branch
4 the capitulation of Congress and the Supreme Court)
5) the development of extreme ideologies, and
6) the lack of a shared identity.
Even The Freedom House, which publishes a survey of world governments now classifies America as free, but flawed. It sums up:
American democracy is still standing—but it’s wobbling. Institutions remain strong on paper, but public trust, global reputation, and internal cohesion are under serious strain. The U.S. is no longer seen as the gold standard of democracy, and its status as a “flawed democracy” reflects both systemic challenges and a need for reform.
https://freedomhouse.org/country/united-states/freedom-world/2024
Today, I feel a little despaired. Buck me up.
[Edited to fix typo in title, so it says American not Amercian -Gwai]
VELTMAN: Jimmy Kimmel hasn't been thrown behind bars or worse for the recent remarks he made on his late-night show. And this wasn't a direct gibe at President Trump, though Kimmel has made many of those over the years. But scholars see a direct link between the fates of ancient comedians living through collapsing democracies and the crackdown on their descendants today. Stanford University history department chair Caroline Winterer studies the influence of the ancient world on early American history.
CAROLINE WINTERER: There is a very long tradition of basing the United States in the wisdom of classical antiquity and also of rulers thinking it's part of being a ruler to allow people to mock them.
VELTMAN: She says this country's founders were steeped in the writings of the ancients and from them understood that those in power should have thick skins.
WINTERER: Because along with the adulation of the masses comes the discontent of the masses with one of the sublimest weapons that we have in our arsenal of free speech.
This got me to thinking about how other signs our democracy is failing.
Besides the silencing of comedians like Kimmel and Colbert there has been
1) the attack on academic freedom
2) the forced deportation of immigrants without due process
3) the increase in the power of the executive branch
4 the capitulation of Congress and the Supreme Court)
5) the development of extreme ideologies, and
6) the lack of a shared identity.
Even The Freedom House, which publishes a survey of world governments now classifies America as free, but flawed. It sums up:
American democracy is still standing—but it’s wobbling. Institutions remain strong on paper, but public trust, global reputation, and internal cohesion are under serious strain. The U.S. is no longer seen as the gold standard of democracy, and its status as a “flawed democracy” reflects both systemic challenges and a need for reform.
https://freedomhouse.org/country/united-states/freedom-world/2024
Today, I feel a little despaired. Buck me up.
[Edited to fix typo in title, so it says American not Amercian -Gwai]
Comments
Does anyone think we can do it?
Doublethink, Admin
Three of the nine justices were Democratic appointees, so they definitely aren’t on Team Trump.
Trump appointed three of the remaining justices. That doesn’t necessarily always mean they’ll be in his pocket—historically, at least, it’s not that unusual for justices to have more of an independent streak than the president who appointed them anticipated.
But one thing all the Republican appointees on the court, who have a 6–3 majority, have in common is a high view of presidential power and a corresponding distrust for and dislike of many precedents of the Court. They have little if any hesitancy in overruling what had been seen as well-established and often long-standing precedents, especially when those precedents get in the way of their view of presidential power. And they seem largely unconcerned at Trump’s willingness to test and destroy the boundaries, their focus being on upholding presidential power.
This is the result of some decades-long gameplay on the part of Republicans.
To @Gramps49's list I'd add the internal deployment of the military without there being a relevant emergency as a sign that our democracy is failing. The governor of Illinois, J. B. Pritzker, has recently said that one of the points of that is to condition people to seeing the military on city streets so we don't push back when the military is policing citizens during the 2026 elections.
The New York Times and other outlets have reported Border Czar Tom Homan allegedly accepted a $50,000 bribe from undercover FBI agents in 2023 with the promise of steering Border related contracts to their "organization." When Trump was elected in 2024, the FBI informed Trump of the incident with the advice not to put Homan in any position of leadership. This is why Homan never got a cabinet position. But as Border Czar, it appears that Homan is allowing for some shady operations like Allegator Alcatraz to take place.
This is part of a larger pattern. Trump fired all the Inspector Generals whose job was to prevent graft from happening in federal contracts.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to get richer.
(An interesting sideline. The FBI sting operations have been using the $50,000 "bribe" scheme since the 1980s. You would think they would adjust it for inflation by now.)
This might even be bigger than the alleged Epstein scandal.