American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?
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Just a few months ago, Turkey considered moving to a US-style "democracy" and the EU lost its shit over Turkey "abandoning democracy". Turkey wasn't even going to go as far as the US, just much closer to the US system than to the European accepted level of far more democracy. The media, even in Europe, carefully avoided mentioning that Turkey wasn't going to something crazy, just "part way" to what America has always been. It was really obvious the combination of how little the world thinks of America's "democratic" system, but how terrified those both foreign and domestic are of saying anything about it.
And the number of Americans (and Brits) who have told me that my freedom of movement is in grave danger for stating something like this, to me, means that America is not as free as people believe that it is. Even if you don't go to jail for complaining about the government, the palpable fear that you will is so significant that freedom is significantly curtailed.
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It's strange to me given that all throughout school (even traditional rural American schools) it was driven home that America was not a democracy and was never supposed to be and that the founding father's believed that democracy was an insane idea (the term was a synonym with anarchy then) that they were specifically avoiding. The American ideal, from day one, was to not let democracy happen. That any American says that America is a democracy, was a democracy or intended to be a democracy is itself, very un-American. In fact, wanting democracy conceptually could be see as an anti-American / unpatriotic activity.
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US election system is a joke, it really is...
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@scottalanmiller said in American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?:
It's strange to me given that all throughout school (even traditional rural American schools) it was driven home that America was not a democracy and was never supposed to be and that the founding father's believed that democracy was an insane idea (the term was a synonym with anarchy then) that they were specifically avoiding. The American ideal, from day one, was to not let democracy happen. That any American says that America is a democracy, was a democracy or intended to be a democracy is itself, very un-American. In fact, wanting democracy conceptually could be see as an anti-American / unpatriotic activity.
I agree and it is true what their intentions were, though from what I can tell they don't seem to teach that anymore, people love saying 'our democracy" when I watch American TV.
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@tonyshowoff said in American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?:
@scottalanmiller said in American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?:
It's strange to me given that all throughout school (even traditional rural American schools) it was driven home that America was not a democracy and was never supposed to be and that the founding father's believed that democracy was an insane idea (the term was a synonym with anarchy then) that they were specifically avoiding. The American ideal, from day one, was to not let democracy happen. That any American says that America is a democracy, was a democracy or intended to be a democracy is itself, very un-American. In fact, wanting democracy conceptually could be see as an anti-American / unpatriotic activity.
I agree and it is true what their intentions were, though from what I can tell they don't seem to teach that anymore, people love saying 'our democracy" when I watch American TV.
They've always said that. The media has always targeted an education level of around second grade, before there is any historical or political education. But outside of Texas, which actually teaches that the other forty-nine states are not republics, I know of no state that doesn't teach at least the basics of how government works.
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@scottalanmiller said in American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?:
@tonyshowoff said in American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?:
@scottalanmiller said in American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?:
It's strange to me given that all throughout school (even traditional rural American schools) it was driven home that America was not a democracy and was never supposed to be and that the founding father's believed that democracy was an insane idea (the term was a synonym with anarchy then) that they were specifically avoiding. The American ideal, from day one, was to not let democracy happen. That any American says that America is a democracy, was a democracy or intended to be a democracy is itself, very un-American. In fact, wanting democracy conceptually could be see as an anti-American / unpatriotic activity.
I agree and it is true what their intentions were, though from what I can tell they don't seem to teach that anymore, people love saying 'our democracy" when I watch American TV.
They've always said that. The media has always targeted an education level of around second grade, before there is any historical or political education. But outside of Texas, which actually teaches that the other forty-nine states are not republics, I know of no state that doesn't teach at least the basics of how government works.
Just check out most of these headlines/titles (and the text below them):
https://www.google.ru/search?q=american+democracy+site%3Acnn.com
https://www.google.ru/search?q=american+democracy+site%3Awww.foxnews.com
https://www.google.ru/search?q=american+democracy+site%3Awww.k12.com
https://www.google.ru/search?q=american+democracy+site%3Awww.k12irc.org
It's bipartisan and in education. The only people I know of who actively refer to it as a republic, not a democracy, are either intellectuals or people with some sort of vested political interest in pointing it out.
Perhaps in Texas it's taught that way, but almost never do I see educational materials from the US or speak with Americans who refer to it as anything but a democracy.
They do teach it's a republic and refer to it that way, seemingly, but then also use democracy as a synonym to it.
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@tonyshowoff said in American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?:
Perhaps in Texas it's taught that way, but almost never do I see educational materials from the US or speak with Americans who refer to it as anything but a democracy.
You missed my point, likely because you aren't used to the state level politics of the US. While the US is a federal republic, the law always demands that any constituent state must also be a republic internally. Each state is a fully functional republic on its own. They have to be. Some, like Vermont, were fully independent and free operational republics after being colonies but before joining the union. Others, like New York and Virginia, became members of the United States almost simultaneously with moving past colonial status. Technically they were republics too, but so short lived independently that no one considers it.
But Texas teaches that their own republic status is unique within the states and is the only one that ever talks about their pre-state republic status (which was barely longer than Vermont's own.) People from the US all know that their own states are republics, but only Texas things that the others are not.
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@tonyshowoff said in American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?:
They do teach it's a republic and refer to it that way, seemingly, but then also use democracy as a synonym to it.
That's a new thing.
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@scottalanmiller said in American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?:
@tonyshowoff said in American presidential elections or lol, they really do it that way?:
They do teach it's a republic and refer to it that way, seemingly, but then also use democracy as a synonym to it.
That's a new thing.
Pfft you're old. Technology is a young man's game grandpa
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This topic makes me think of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90RajY2nrgk
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This is fun too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd5rul6EdF0
