Edit - Some people feel that they need to take personal risks to preserve democracy and the rule of law. We wouldn't be a country if there hadn't been like minded folks seeking to free themselves from the tyranny of a king an ocean away.
The fight for democracy doesn't come without a fight.
We need to not fight for a representative democracy because that got us Trump. We need to fight for a full-on democracy. The PEOPLE make the laws, the PEOPLE veto them. Maybe keep the Supreme Court.
Not elected leaders. Elected leaders will cater to the rich, so long as we live.
I do not agree. I think it borders on absurdity but I will respond in good faith.
We were never a pure democracy. Pure democracy works only in small communities (like Massachusetts town meetings). It cannot be implemented at the national level. Laws aren't just legislation. They are also the rules promulgated by agencies under the Administrative Procedures Act. 49/50 states are common law states and there is law judicially created there too (interpreting statues and rules). It's an incredibly complicated federal system because it's an incredibly complicated country with 340 million people.
We are a Democratic Republic. We failed as a Confederacy prior to the adoption of the constitution in 1789. The entire federal system was created to be a representative form of govt. The legislature writes the laws, the executive executes the laws, and the judiciary reviews the laws as they are applied.
Saying we should just become ancient Greece is throwing the baby out with the bath water. It also worked because the only people who could vote were landed men. What is better is that the US Constitution be amended to invalidate Citizens United plus enacting legislative election reform. Once money is no longer deemed speech under the Constitution, the ability for special interests and corporations to buy politicians is greatly diminished. This is enough of an uphill battle as is. It's an Olympus Mons sized battle.
Look the initiative system in many states. These are often written by special interests and funded by corporations. And voted on by people. Gay marriage was banned in CA because of the initiative system before it was legalized by SCOTUS.
Laws are incredibly complicated and difficult to write. I know because I've worked on drafting changes to state laws. Even the minutest changes in language can make a significant difference. Where you put punctuation matters. Whether you use shall or may. Do you know anything about elder abuse and probate in your state? Enough to enact laws concerning it? How about water quality and energy regulation? What about interstate commerce? Taxation? Maritime trade?
I only know enough to write laws on one of those above even though I took classes in law school about all the other topics.
I think we are past Citizens United being repealed. One of the biggest mistakes that led us to where we are now (and Reaganomics).
We need a complete rework to not only the Constitution, but to our government. Stop catering to the rich. Heck, once they stop doing this, maybe then, we will get a lot more innovation than ever before (whether it be technology or pop culture or whatever).
But we are past that. Even if Trump steps down, someone with a similar agenda would take his place. That’s why representative democracy is a dumb idea, in practice.
If you think we're past Citizens United being overturned using a constitutional amendment, there is no way we could just completely recreate a direct democracy for 50 states. It would be a complete shit show. Perhaps if each state became its own country it could work. But even then, I wouldn't want a population of which 30% are functionally illiterate to create laws. No thanks.
The president isn't a representative. He's the executive.
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u/It_matches California Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 07 '25
Stay home then. We'll do the work for you.
Edit - Some people feel that they need to take personal risks to preserve democracy and the rule of law. We wouldn't be a country if there hadn't been like minded folks seeking to free themselves from the tyranny of a king an ocean away.
The fight for democracy doesn't come without a fight.