Americans are rightly proud of our increasingly democratic form of government. But too often we call ourselves a “democracy” without asking just what that means, or ought to mean. If we were to do so, we might discover that we are less democratic than we think. Occasionally, too, the inability of some candidates for electoral … Continue reading »
American democracy
Thoughts on Tax Day 2012
As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., wrote in 1904, “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.” But the wealthiest Americans, who haven’t raked in as much of America’s income and wealth since the 1920s, are today paying a lower tax rate than they have in over thirty years. Even though America faces … Continue reading »
Occupy elections, with a simple message
What’s next? That’s the question being asked as cities close down Occupy encampments and winter approaches. The answer is simple. Just as the Tea Party gained power, the Occupy Movement can. The Occupy movement has raised awareness of a great many of America’s real issues and has organized supporters across the country. Next comes electoral … Continue reading »
Occupiers occupied: The hijacking of the First Amendment
A funny thing happened to the First Amendment on its way to the public forum. According to the Supreme Court, money is now speech and corporations are now people. But when real people without money assemble to express their dissatisfaction with the political consequences of this, they’re treated as public nuisances and evicted. First things … Continue reading »
Why democracy is public: The American Dream beats the nightmare
Democracy, in the American tradition, has been defined by a simple morality: We Americans care about our fellow citizens, we act on that care and build trust, and we do our best not just for ourselves, our families, and our friends and neighbors, but for our country, for each other, for people we have never … Continue reading »