Of all the powerful ideologies that run through American politics, there is arguably none that is stronger and more potent to American voters than “American Exceptionalism”. America being seen as a beacon of hope, liberty and democracy is an image that politicians and presidents, notably Ronald Reagan, have made use of for decades. Of course, like many national myths, there is a grain of truth to this argument. America is indeed the country where a black man with a funny name and with a non-traditional personal background can be become president. Such social mobility should be commended. But if one looks at the institutional features that make up American democracy, it is clear that something has gone horribly wrong.
An important feature of democracy is that whoever gets the most votes wins power. Of course, it is not always as simple as that and proportional systems (such as the ones in many European countries) often necessitate various coalitions between parties. However, America does not have proportional representation and instead runs its elections under a simple “First Past the Post” system.
But even though the principal of whoever wins the most votes gets to govern is meant to be a central tenant of democracy, in America this idea does not appear to hold true. The Electoral College is such an ingrained part of American presidential elections that it is far too easy to forget what a strange and backwards system it is. While the Electoral College may have made sense 200 years ago, this is no longer the case. How is it democratic to deny millions of Texans and Californians a voice in electing the most powerful elected official in the world by making their vote next to worthless?
In the 2012 US Congressional Elections, the Democrats got 48.8% of the vote and had over one million more votes than the Republicans, and yet, thanks to gerrymandering on a frankly epic scale, the Democrats were still in the minority and the GOP had a comfortable majority. Although this is news to no one on a heavily Democratic site such as Daily Kos, these numbers should still not be easily forgotten and deserve consideration. What is the point of voting, and how do you convince people to vote, when these figures show that whoever gets the most votes nationally is not guaranteed to get a majority in Congress?
Democracy is not merely about voting and having a free press is also crucial. But the American press, which is supposed to hold governmental power to account, is often nothing more than a mouthpiece for both large parties. While everyone knows Fox News is awful, journalistically, is MSNBC really that much better? The MSNBC editorial line is one that I would often agree with, but TV stations that specialise in news are not meant to merely spout political views. While I may agree with what Rachel Maddow says, that does not mean she is a good journalist. It merely means she is good at espousing progressive/liberal views. That is a far cry from the independent journalism that democracy needs to thrive.
There is something captivating about American democracy. Whether it be due to the stakes being so high in elections or that the choice is so stark between Democrats and Republicans, people are drawn to American politics and enjoy following it. However, while American politics may often be entertaining, its democratic values are sadly lacking.