Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt of the New York Times raise the valid question,‘Is Donald Trump a Threat to Democracy?’ As a dismissive character of US intelligence agencies,’ I find that Donald Trump will unforgivingly deny us our democracy not single handily but with the help of cabinet members he has appointed in great positions of institutional power over America. Under the rise of Donald Trump as the 45th president-elect of the United States is the granting of corrupt individuals in charge of operations from judges, Education, Budget Directing, Treasury, The Environmental Protection Agency, and Health and Human Services to name a few. In this response, I will expand on Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s notion making it apparent …show more content…
From schools to finances and directing the budget, individuals such as Betsy DeVos, Jeff Sessions, Mick Mulvaney, Steven Mnuchin, Scott Pruitt, Tom Price, among other individuals alongside Donald Trump are going to play key roles in the deconstruction of the democracy we are accustomed to in this country. Collectively, these individuals bring forth some form of racism, skepticism, fascism, or sexism. One by one I will highlight what it is and why Donald Trump and his cabinet members are lethal to this country's democracy. Betsy DeVos, selected to lead the Secretary of Education was mentioned as "most ideological, anti-public education nominee" by Randi Weingarten, furthermore, unaware of federal laws, DeVos has driven funding away from public schools and into private schools. Jeff Sessions appointed by Donald Trump as the Attorney General reported by NPR, made a number of racist comments: including the comment of a white lawyer who had black clientele is"a disgrace to his race." Among a wide variation of racist stances, Sessions is extremely conservative on immigration, with a reputation, according to NPR, as the most expressive opponent of immigration reform in the Senate. Mick Mulvaney appointed by Trump to be the Budget Director is seeking extensive cuts of government spending aggressively pursuing the defunding of Planned Parenthood (taking away women’s rights) along with the prevention of Syrian refugees from entering the United States (racism). In addition, Steven Mnuchin appointed by Trump as the Secretary of the Treasury Considered a "financial expert" with absolutely no experience in government according to the Times, was a chairman of a mortgage company accused of wrongly pursuing the foreclosing of homeowners (corruption practices). Scott Pruitt appointed by Trump to be the Head of the Environmental Protection Agency doesn't believe in global
Government officials serving in the Judiciary branch hold incredible power, not only due to judicial review, but also because they are insulated from the American people. Supreme Court Justices are unelected and hold lifelong terms in office. Officials that are appointed by the President or a party usually have that person or party’s interests in mind. This action is not democratic because it allows the Judicial Bench to be stacked with a singular party’s morals and beliefs. This phenomenon contradicts all aspects of democracy by giving indispensable powers to these officials for life, by taking away the people’s right to representation by election, and by allowing certain degrees of judicial activism. Unelected judges that make important decisions for the American Government are not held responsible or accountable for any actions that appear to be wrong in the public’s eye because they cannot be removed from office except when having been convicted of a felony.
The government in the United States supposedly revolves around American ideals such as equality and diversity; however, this is simply not the case. The meaning of democracy has been skewed in the United States to represent something entirely different than it did in 1776 when the country was founded. Today, our democracy behaves more like an aristocracy, where the upper class exercises power within the government and state, influencing discourse and therefore the laws and resources in our country, purportedly “for the people”. Democracy is presumed to provide everyone with equal political power, but the government in today’s America, although seemingly following this ideal model, does not. Instead, the elite upper-class have a monopoly over
1. Janda, Kenneth. The Challenge of Democracy. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA. 1999. (Chapter 3 & 4).
Janda, K., Berry, J., Golman, J., & Hula, K. (2009). The Challenge of Democracy: American
In Michael Moore’s introduction to the novel, Stupid White Men, Moore talks about the state of the American nation during the twenty first century. Moore believes that the nation is falling apart because it is being overrun by the “stupid white men” who are controlling it. He equates all the corruption and downfall that is occurring throughout the United States with the election of former president George W. Bush. In this introduction he covers numerous controversial issues, which range from the economy and society to politics and the environment. Although much of what Moore says is exaggerated and one sided, many of his statements are true. Moore is correct in stating that the nation is falling downhill; however, he is wrong in saying that Bush is the only cause in America’s decline.
At first glance, it seems implausible the word democracy isn't written in the United States Constitution, or in the Preamble of the Constitution, or even in the Declaration of Independence. One would assume a concept so paramount to modern American culture would surely be derived from one of its oldest and most endeared documents. Alas, it is not. The Constitution only specifically mentions two entities, the government and “We the People”. Defining government is an easy enough task, but who are “We the People”? Originally consisting of only white male property owners, eventually adding in other races, income classes, women, and astonishingly, corporations, the definition of “We the People” has evolved numerous times. Corporation is another key term the architects of our government failed to define for us, perhaps that is why it found its way into the phrase “We the People”. A grave dilemma lies in this fallible defining of terms. Granting corporations person-hood legislatively shifts the power of democracy from human interests to corporate interests. This corrosion of human interest can clearly be noted when examining the battle over corporate power highlighted in the court cases of Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, and United States v. Sourapas and Crest Beverage Company.
In “Idiot Nation,” Michael Moore discourses on the collapse of American education system and the three main reasons behind it: politicians’ ignorance, shortage of teachers, and the rise of Corporate America. Moore first points out how ignorant the President and politicians are by stating that the President cannot simply identify whether Africa is a nation or a continent. Next, Moore attributes the lack of funding in education to the fact that politicians prefer to build bomber than to improve our education system; this leads to shortage of resources, overpopulated classrooms, and decrease of books available for students. He then notes that the low salaries of teachers, which are caused by the insufficient funding of education, result in shortage of qualified teachers, leading to the failure of the education system. In addition, Moore discusses about the rise of Corporate America, which is another factor corrupting the education system. To get funding from Corporate America, schools diminish the time students have in class, by making students watch advertisements from businesses and help businesses conduct research during class time. Throughout his excerpt, Moore uses exemplification, surprising statistics, rhetorical questions, and simple but clear reasoning to effectively express his ideas and convince readers of his arguments.
Democracy in the United States became prominent in the early to mid 19th century. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, was inaugurated in 1829 and was best known as the person who mainstreamed democracy in America. Because he came from a humble background, he was the “genuine common man.” (Foner, pg. 303) He claimed he recognized the needs of the people and spoke on behalf of the majority [farmers, laborers]. However, critics of Jackson and democracy called him “King Andrew I” because of his apparent abuse of presidential power [vetoing]. These critics believed he favored the majority so much that it violated the U.S. constitution, and they stated he was straying too far away from the plan originally set for the United States. Because of the extreme shift of power to the majority, the limiting of rights of the few [merchants, industrialists] and the abuse of power under Jackson’s democracy, the foundational documents set in the constitution was violated, and the work of the preceding presidents were all but lost.
In two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf, Americans fought and died so that democracy would prevail around the world. In the minds of many Americans, America is the bastion of democracy. But how democratic is America? Today’s America was “born” with the signing of the constitution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, it was determined how democratic America would be. And every American should ask himself how democratic America was made at that constitutional convention in Philadelphia.
Since the beginning of colonization, America has been controlled by religiously and ethically diverse whites. The most profound cases of racism in the “United” States of America have been felt by Native Americans, Asians, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Muslims. Major racially structured institutions include; slavery, settlement, Indian reservations, segregation, residential schools, and internment camps (Racism in the U.S., 1). Racism has been felt and seen by many in housing, the educational system, places of employment, and the government. Discrimination was largely criminalized in the mid 20th century, and at the same time became socially unacceptable and morally repugnant (Racism in the U.S., 1). Although racism was
The presidents of leading American colleges and universities are in outrage at President Trump’s first executive order. The order prohibits the entrance of immigrants from seven predominately Muslim countries to the United States. The educators have rallied together and are appalled at the limitations this puts on their students and the loss of “innovations and scholarship” that would be brought by them (Source B). The use of logos and ad hominem are employed in the letter to plead that Trump “rectify” and “rescind” the order (Source B).
“There is exactly one sentence about why schools should want to discriminate… It reads, ‘When the state’s most elite universities are less diverse, [a school official] said, it doesn’t provide our students with a level of diversity they need in order to learn about other cultures and other communities’…And that’s supposed to outweigh all these costs of discrimination; It is personally unfair, passes over better qualified students, and sets a disturbing legal, political, and moral precedent in allowing racial discrimination.”
In the midst of one of the most controversial presidential elections in history, both political parties are struggling to prove that their candidate is the best choice. Clinton and Trump’s disapproval ratings are very low, but one has to ask, is there really a lesser evil to choose from? While Clinton has had her own fair share of past discrepancies, Trump’s track record proves much more troublesome. Donald Trump has proven to be an untrustworthy presidential candidate because of his misogynistic actions, his racial bias, and his corrupt business history. During the Republican debate on August 6, 2016, Trump had a falling out with Fox correspondent Megyn Kelly after she questioned him about some of his comments on women, where he referred to them as “’fat pigs’, ‘dogs’, ’slobs’, and ‘disgusting animals’,” (Bahadur).
In deciphering what constitutes the brilliance of democracy then, we find that it is not citizens’ ability to make informed decisions or an unflawed and subtly manipulated election process, but the unapparent way in which democracy persuades citizens – informed or not - and leaders – corrupt or not – toward working to build better, more prosperous societies.
... and fascism offered bold new approaches to modern politics. These ideologies maintained that democracy was effeminate and that it wasted precious time in building consensus among citizens. Totalitarian leaders’ military style made representative government and the democratic values of the United States, France, and Great Britain appear feeble- a sign that these societies were on the decline. Totalitarianism put democracies on the defensive as they aimed to restore prosperity while still upholding individual rights and the rule of law”(Hunt & Martin, 852).