Democracy in America is as Healthy as Ever
The great demise of democracy is a myth
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On January 20th, 2021, the peaceful transfer of power that the United States is known for once again took place. After free and fair elections with no evidence of fraud or interference, Joe Biden was sworn into office and became the 46th President of the United States of America...much to the chagrin of now former President, Donald Trump.
The weeks leading up to the event were indeed tumultuous and many Americans, and the world, were growing concerned and not so sure if this time honored tradition would happen as planned. The most brazen example of the tumult was an attack on the Capitol building in Washington DC by Trump supporters who were convinced that the election was fraudulent. Trump worked hard to do everything he could to undermine democracy by pushing false allegations that the voting was rigged and he had actually won. He did what he could to try and get votes thrown out and to twist election results in his favour.
None of it worked. None of it. He pushed the limits. He did everything he could to fight the system and democracy itself. He even was able to inspire his diehard cultists into physically attacking the building where electoral votes were being counted in a bid to end the process. But, despite all of that, he lost. In the end, on January 20th, the morning of inauguration day, Trump got on a helicopter and flew out of Washington. His time in office was officially done.
He didn't show up to the inauguration as is customary. Instead, he sulked and took the low road, leaving in a huff, defeated, beaten down and broken. The system prevailed over his strong arm tactics. And that is good and deserves to be celebrated.
There has been a lot of negativity, a lot of doom and gloom, revolving around the state of democracy in the US. There are those who claim that it's dying. They cite not only Trump's efforts to undermine democracy, but also actions taken by the Republican party as a whole. Some of these are highlighted by Dave Daley in a Guardian opinion piece called "Trump is trying to thwart democracy itself. But the problem is deeper than one man."
Granted, Daley does some excellent arguments, discussing the various ways that Republicans have been "gerry-mandering" to tilt election results in their favor in a list of states. And, for sure, these things that are happening are, indeed, concerning and deserve to be addressed.
And, because no system is perfect, there are plenty of ideas out there of how to make American democracy even stronger. The Financial Times offers up some thoughts, such as making sure that future presidents aren't allowed to just stick all of their family members into White House positions, mandatory disclosure of income tax, and making it a law that the president and his staff work with an incoming administration to ensure a smooth transition. But, these seem relatively minor in the long run. There are no calls in the article for a major overall, or claims that democracy is in it's death throws. The fact is, there are enough checks and balances in place to prevent a coup or a President refusing to concede power. And they worked. Donald Trump is now gone.
The democratic system in the US definitely does appears to be holding firm. There will always be challenges. There will always be those who push the envelope. It's biggest test in recent time was, indeed, Donald Trump. He, however, completely failed. The system isn't perfect. No system is. But, the new President of the United States, as voted in my the people of America, is now at work thanks to democracy!
About the Creator
Chris Hearn
I'm a 47 year old writer, amateur photographer and amateur dad living in Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
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