Fight with American ignorance, Part 1: US is a Republic, it is not a Democracy

[Marcin2 + 725]

Lately I was approached with this opinion:

US is a Republic, it is not a Democracy

And the article was linked:

The United States is not a democracy — and it wasn't meant to be one

But all the peculiarities of United States representative democracy, that are mentioned in the linked article are also present in many other democractic countries.

US is fullfiling the definition of the representative democracy (at least nominally), the same as Germany, France, Japan, UK, Canada, South Korea and many other countries.

If the topic is not obvious to you, need more examples, please ask additional questions.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Why We Are a Republic, Not a Democracy

... The Founding Fathers went to great lengths to ensure that we were a republic and not a democracy. In fact, the word democracy does not appear in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or any other of our founding documents.

How about a few quotations expressed by the Founders about democracy?

In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison wanted to prevent rule by majority faction, saying, “Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.”

John Adams warned in a letter, “Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet, that did not commit suicide.”

Edmund Randolph said, “That in tracing these evils to their origin, every man had found it in the turbulence and follies of democracy.”

Then-Chief Justice John Marshall observed, “Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos.”

The Founders expressed contempt for the tyranny of majority rule, and throughout our Constitution, they placed impediments to that tyranny. Two houses of Congress pose one obstacle to majority rule. That is, 51 senators can block the wishes of 435 representatives and 49 senators.

The president can veto the wishes of 535 members of Congress. It takes two-thirds of both houses of Congress to override a presidential veto.

To change the Constitution requires not a majority but a two-thirds vote of both houses, and if an amendment is approved, it requires ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures.  ...

 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

We the People: A Constitutional Republic, Not a Democracy

... Most people often mistakenly refer to our nation as the greatest democracy on earth.  They are mistaken because we are not an absolute democracy; we are a constitutional republic.  That is what makes our nation great, for if we were merely a democracy, we would be anything but great.  And to the extent that we no longer function as a constitutional republic, that greatness is rapidly ebbing away.

Why did we need a constitution?  Why are popular elections not a sufficient means of preserving liberty?

A pure unbridled democracy is a political system in which the majority enjoys absolute power by means of democratic elections.  In an unvarnished democracy, unrestrained by a constitution, the majority can vote to impose tyranny on themselves and the minority opposition.  They can vote to elect those who will infringe upon our inalienable God-given rights.  Thomas Jefferson referred to this as elected despotism in Notes on the State of Virginia (also cited in Federalist 48 by Madison):

 

An ELECTIVE DESPOTISM was not the government we fought for; but one which should not only be founded on free principles, but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.

Thus, a constitution that limited and divided the power of government was necessary to preclude elected officials from imposing tyranny on the people.  This is why they adopted a constitution with limited enumerated power, divided and checked across several branches and levels.  ...

 

... Article 4 section 4 of the Constitution prescribes that “the United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government.”  ...

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Why Is the United States a Republic?

... The key difference between a republic and a democracy is not how power is projected, but the limits to power. Both use the representational system, meaning that the citizenry is represented in the government by elected leaders. In both cases, the majority rule, but in a republic the constitution limits how the government can exercise power. These rights are inalienable and cannot be changed or altered by an elected government. The United States is a typical example of a republic state because the constitution limits the power of the government. Some rights such as the Bill of Rights, the right to vote, and the powers to amend the constitution are limited and cannot be changed by the sitting government without consulting the public directly.  ...

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

I think it's mostly just confusing political and financial ideologies.

You can be financially conservative (pro business, value self monetary independence) while simultaneously being very liberal on other social matters (abortion, gay rights, trans, etc.)

The thing that stupid republicans don't understand is that "women's health clinics" or "safe injection sites" actually save the country money by crime and disease prevention.  Many claim to be financially literate but let their "values" interfere with that...

 

Alberta NDP lost to the UCP because the deficits were too large..... the UCP instantly and significantly increased the deficit while cutting education and healthcare. #ProOilGovernment #ExecutiveBonuses

 

Edited February 23, 2020 by Enthalpic

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

Upside Kenny has zero chance of reelection

 

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,190]

7 minutes ago, Enthalpic said:

The thing that stupid republicans don't understand is that "women's health clinics" or "safe injection sites" actually save the country money by crime and disease prevention.  Many claim to be financially literate but let their "values" interfere with that..

Yea, tell that to Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco...  YOUR policies, which you say are wonderful, are in fact the DIRECT OPPOSITE of your claims.  Got any more giant ass lies to promulgate today?

[Marcin2 + 725]

I just said that all the world calls the US type of government and many other similar or nearly identical types of government representative democracy.

Americans can say that it is not democracy but sth different called republic.

This view probably comes from uniform ignorance of US society relating to types of government in other countries, plus probably mass media are peddling this nonsense.

At the end of the day, you can call a car not a car but a bus or a tram. If 320 million people will agree with this definition all is fine, they are domestically able to communicate precisely with mutual understanding. The fact that other 7.4 billion people use different definition is irrelevant. Unless they would see this strange „American notation” of this globally agreed definition at oilprice.com forum and comment about it.

Edited February 23, 2020 by Marcin2
Typo

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

4 minutes ago, footeab@yahoo.com said:

Yea, tell that to Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco...  YOUR policies, which you say are wonderful, are in fact the DIRECT OPPOSITE of your claims.  Got any more giant ass lies to promulgate today?

Homeless flock to those cities due to the warmer winter climate hence ongoing problems.

Also ocean port cities have easier access to imported drugs.

Would you like more education today?

 

Edited February 23, 2020 by Enthalpic

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

1 minute ago, Marcin2 said:

I just said that all the world calls the US type of government and many otger similar or nearly identical types of government representative democracy.

Americans can say that it is not democracy but sth different called republic.

This view probably comes from uniform ignorance of US society relating to types of government in other countries, plus probably mass media are peddling this nonsense.

At the end of the day, you can call a car not a car but a bus or a tram. If 320 million people will agree with this definition all is fine, they are domestically able to communicate precisely with mutual understanding. The fact that other 7.4 billion people uses different definition is irrelevant.

Marcin, this is actually a good discussion to have, differences between Constitutional Republic and Democracy.

I don't want to hijack your thread, ... I already posted some basic information above.  Please do take note.

And no, I do not consider myself "ignorant" on this topic.

Definitions do matter.  I tend to take definitions pretty seriously.  My 300 page technical glossary attached, to back up my assertion that I take definitions seriously.

Valve Glossary - Tom Kirkman.pdf

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

6 minutes ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Marcin, this is actually a good discussion to have, differences between Constitutional Republic and Democracy.

I don't want to hijack your thread, ... I already posted some basic information above.  Please do take note.

And no, I do not consider myself "ignorant" on this topic.

Definitions do matter.  I tend to take definitions pretty seriously.  My 300 page technical glossary attached, to back up my assertion that I take definitions seriously.

Valve Glossary - Tom Kirkman.pdf 1.3 MB · 0 downloads

 

"Comparisons can be made. There are countries which nominally are constitutional republics, but which have become (in effect) dictatorships. There are also countries which have no written constitution, and are monarchies, but which act in a similar way to constitutional republics."

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_republic

Edited February 24, 2020 by Enthalpic

[Marcin2 + 725]

5 minutes ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Marcin, this is actually a good discussion to have, differences between Constitutional Republic and Democracy.

I don't want to hijack your thread, ... I already posted some basic information above.  Please do take note.

And no, I do not consider myself "ignorant" on this topic.

Definitions do matter.  I tend to take definitions pretty seriously.  My 300 page technical glossary attached, to back up my assertion that I take definitions seriously.

Valve Glossary - Tom Kirkman.pdf 1.3 MB · 1 download

Tom you are different because you understand why you use different than globally accepted definition.

Majority of people do not.

There should be a basic course, at US junior high , just 2 hours spent on explanation what all these defnitions mean, and why they are used. But accepting what these words really mean.

There should be definition at Merriam Webster:

Republic : AmEng : How US citizens call their democracy, stressing that it is not democracy.

and another one:

Democracy with Chinese characteristic: ChineseEng: Authocratic and at times dictatorial form of governance with CCP as the absolute power. All 3 branches of government: judiciary, legislative, executive are subordinate to CCP.

Many Civil liberties are nonexistant.

 

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,190]

26 minutes ago, Enthalpic said:

Homeless flock to those cities due to the warmer winter climate hence ongoing problems.

Also ocean port cities have easier access to imported drugs.

Would you like more education today?

 

Vancouver, seattle, portland are warm.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

Just now, footeab@yahoo.com said:

Vancouver, seattle, portland are warm.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Try living in Edmonton... yes they are warm.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

20 minutes ago, Marcin2 said:

Tom you are different because you understand why you use different than globally accepted definition.

Majority of people do not.

There should be a basic course, at US junior high , just 2 hours spent on explanation what all these defnitions mean, and why they are used. But accepting what these words really mean.

There should be definition at Merriam Webster:

Republic : AmEng : How US citizens call their democracy, stressing that it is not democracy.

and another one:

Democracy with Chinese characteristic: ChineseEng: Authocratic and at times dictatorial form of governance with CCP as the absolute power. All 3 branches of government: judiciary, legislative, executive are subordinate to CCP.

Many Civil liberties are nonexistant.

 

I had mandatory Civics class in High School.  Unfortunately, Civics classes have become close to extinct the last few decades.

 

 

“One of the things taken out of the curriculum was civics. Civics was a class that used to be required before you could graduate from high school. You were taught what was in the U.S. Constitution. And after all the student rebellions in the Sixties, civics was banished from the student curriculum and was replaced by something called social studies. Here we live in a country that has a fabulous constitution and all these guarantees, a contract between the citizens and the government – nobody knows what’s in it…And so, if you don’t know what your rights are, how can you stand up for them? And furthermore, if you don’t know what’s in the document, how can you care if someone is shredding it?”

-Frank Zappa

 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

1 hour ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Why Is the United States a Republic?

... The key difference between a republic and a democracy is not how power is projected, but the limits to power. Both use the representational system, meaning that the citizenry is represented in the government by elected leaders. In both cases, the majority rule, but in a republic the constitution limits how the government can exercise power. These rights are inalienable and cannot be changed or altered by an elected government. The United States is a typical example of a republic state because the constitution limits the power of the government. Some rights such as the Bill of Rights, the right to vote, and the powers to amend the constitution are limited and cannot be changed by the sitting government without consulting the public directly.  ...

Unfortunately our federal government bureaucracy has become too large, onerous, and difficult to manage because of unionization which was first allowed during the Kennedy administration. Instead of just laws, we now have many thousands of edicts by bureaucrats.  Governments at the federal, state, and local level often ignore our Constitutional Rights and pass laws that contravene those rights. The average person has little or no ability to afford the help needed to fight for their Constitutional RIghts once they are abridged. One common example is the right to a speedy trial. Trials are often not speedy at all. 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

1 hour ago, Enthalpic said:

 

"Comparisons can be made. There are countries which nominally are constitutional republics, but which have become (in effect) dictatorships. There are also countries which have no written constitution, and are monarchies, but which act in a similar way to constitutional republics."

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_republic

Any constitution is only as useful as the degree to which it is followed. I don't know of any other country which follows theirs as closely as we do, or has as many checks and balances. Several European nations have largely lost their freedom of speech already. Citizens, in those countries, can be sued or thrown in jail for expressing commonly held beliefs.

Russia is an example of a country that has elections, but the government determines who can be a candidate at all governmental levels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Russia

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

3 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Why We Are a Republic, Not a Democracy

... The Founding Fathers went to great lengths to ensure that we were a republic and not a democracy. In fact, the word democracy does not appear in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or any other of our founding documents.

How about a few quotations expressed by the Founders about democracy?

In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison wanted to prevent rule by majority faction, saying, “Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.”

John Adams warned in a letter, “Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet, that did not commit suicide.”

Edmund Randolph said, “That in tracing these evils to their origin, every man had found it in the turbulence and follies of democracy.”

Then-Chief Justice John Marshall observed, “Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos.”

The Founders expressed contempt for the tyranny of majority rule, and throughout our Constitution, they placed impediments to that tyranny. Two houses of Congress pose one obstacle to majority rule. That is, 51 senators can block the wishes of 435 representatives and 49 senators.

The president can veto the wishes of 535 members of Congress. It takes two-thirds of both houses of Congress to override a presidential veto.

To change the Constitution requires not a majority but a two-thirds vote of both houses, and if an amendment is approved, it requires ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures.  ...

 

Hence, the Electoral College...warts and all!

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,190]

3 hours ago, Enthalpic said:

Try living in Edmonton... yes they are warm.

Yea, cuz all the druggies in the USA just hate the South.... which is warm/sunny; they prefer lots of cold rain all year round and the 2 month summer in the ol' PNW.... sure dude, pull the other leg while you are at it.

[frankfurter + 562]

Shall we add some entropy?  

The true name for China is the Peoples Republic of China.

Something to ponder? 

 

[Rob Plant + 2,756]

5 hours ago, frankfurter said:

Shall we add some entropy?  

The true name for China is the Peoples Republic of China.

Something to ponder? 

 

Ahh yes the irony!

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

7 hours ago, frankfurter said:

Shall we add some entropy?  

The true name for China is the Peoples Republic of China.

Something to ponder? 

China is neither a Republic nor a Democracy.

 

The official name of North Korea is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 

North Korea is neither a Republic nor a Democracy.

 

The official name of Iran is the Islamic Republic of Iran

Iran is not a Republic.  (or a Democracy)

 

Misnomers.

 

[Anthony Okrongly + 114]

Make no mistake The United States of America is a Financial fiefdom, always has been. always will be. The structure of Control in America is not a pyramid with the President on top.  It's an hourglass with the President in the middle. Above the President is "the money." 

We get to vote for our leaders? True.  In high school you also get to vote for your leaders. Do your "leaders" in high school have any impact on how a high school is actually run? Nope. Do your leaders in Congress have any impact on how America is actually run? Nope. 

Let's start with the basics. You never get to vote on "the money." "The Money" is what rules America. It's a benign dictator.  It allow you to move where ever you want in the country without restriction... because where ever you are you serve the money. It allows you to choose your own job... because whatever job you have serves the money. In America we can "make laws" as long as the laws do not change the rule of the Monetary Elite.  I'm not talking about random millionaires.  I'm talking about the structural system in which private individuals and families control the WEALTH and RESOURCES of America - including your work. 

You can have all the POLITICAL demonstrations you want... you're free to do that.  You can elect whatever representative you want (supposedly, even though the party system mostly controls who can run in the first place). There will be "Peaceful" demonstrations and "Peaceful" transitions of power. 

The minute people start to stand up against "the money" the National Guard is called out. There will never be a "peaceful transition" of the basic financial system of America. The President can't change it. The Congress can't change it. The Supreme Court can't change it.  There will never be a vote on it. Yet a small handful of people control ALL of America through the money.  The same is true in Europe. In Russia we know who they are, they call themselves Oligarchs. In America you've probably never heard most of their names. There will never be articles about them.  The wealth and Power of "The Bushes" is extreme and has been for generations, but they are a minor player in the real money.

Consider this 62% of homes in America have mortgages.  The 38% without mortgages are probably home you wouldn't want to buy. The real homes, the good homes all have mortgages. You don't own your home. If you think you do, miss 3-4 payments and see what happens. "Of course you need to take out a mortgage. Homes are expensive. How else could you buy one?" Really? The people who actually own this country don't take out a mortgage to buy their $50 million mansions.  They just cut a check. YOU aren't allowed to own your home. You are allowed to trade WORK for a PLACE TO LIVE. That's what you are allowed to do. 

Every home and every stitch of "privately owned" land in America is taxed.  Don't pay the taxes for 1 year and people with guns will come and take it from you.  Even if you do pay off your home... in Texas the average property tax rate is a little less than 2.5%.  That means that even IF you pay off your home you still have to REPURCHASE it every 40 years at a higher and higher price.

The fact that Private Individuals can print U.S. Currency and create Inflation by doing so means that what they own (the actual land and banks... etc. we call them "investments" but really they are "vestments" of the people who are in power) always increases in value compared to the WORK you do (i.e. wages).

This is such a foreign concept that it is almost incomprehensible to most Americans.  It's not allowed to be comprehensible.  It's not taught because why would you teach your serfs about their own condition? Willing surfs to be sure. You are taught in High School how to be a worker. You are taught in college how to be an educated worker. At no point are you taught how to be a RULER. The families that own this nation are not "workers" they are rulers no different from The Rothschildd have been in Europe since the Napoleonic wars. 

******************

Arguing over the specific name of your Serfdom is very "democratic." We have the freedom of speech to argue with each other over what labels we will use, how we will treat each other, what "rights" we have. But the fact is that there are RULERS who rule over the financial system of this nation... just like there have always been rules who ruled over the financial system of every society since the first kings created centralized storehouses for the grain and took control of the gold bearing ground within their empires... and there are peasants, peons, serfs, citizens, brothers, the masses... whatever we want to call ourselves. The rest is just window dressing.

Our rulers are pretty benign because they haven't just enslaved us... at the end of WWII they enslaved the entire world.  Since we are the closest to power we get some of the benefits of KING DOLLAR. That's all a peasant needs. A little warmth, a little food, a little shelter and a little rest from time to time (Let's call it Labor Day and give them a day off!) We could say that you and I have traded our actual freedom for a bowl of porridge, but the fact of the matter is that we never had any freedom to begin with.  You were born into this particular brand of servitude and you will die in this particular brand of servitude. The people in China were born into their own version of servitude. In the end we are exactly the same. You have exactly the same "choice" to be born here as they had to be born there. You're not special, you're lucky.  But the people in China have the exact some thing you have ... a little food, a little warmth, the idea that they are in charge of their life (as long as they follow the rules, same as here), and a break from time to time (let's call it Chinese New Year!)

You have the freedom to work or die. You have the freedom to pay taxes or have your shelter taken from you. You have the freedom to use Dollars or to starve to death. If you are a good worker, a smart worker, if you squirrel your little pennies away then at the shitty end of your life (when you're all wrung out and pretty must useless) you can sit and watch TV without having to go to work for a decade or so... Then at the very end the powers that be will take all your little savings back through medical costs and taxes. To speed things up, let's give you a "reverse mortgage." 

It's different now? Consider this... The state can DRAFT your son into a war.  Right now. This moment. The state can take 100% of your son's life. If he refuses he will be thrown in jail... "but there is no draft" No but there is a registration. They don't need a draft. The minute they (the money) needs one there will be one. They literally own the LIVES of Americans. 

 

"REPUBLIC... REPUBLIC" shouted the masses in Rome as they were ruled by oligarchs who went by the name "Senator."

Edited February 24, 2020 by Anthony Okrongly

[Geoff Guenther + 317]

People everywhere are getting this absolutely wrong and much of this is subversion of the English language by people trying to engage peoples' tribal instincts.  To have a proper conversation on this, we HAVE to return to simple definitions, understanding that everyone has a slightly different take.

Republic: a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.
vs.
Monarchy: a form of government with a monarch at the head.

Democracy: a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives [or referenda].
vs.
Authoritarianism: the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.

You can have a democratic republic (i.e. the US and Germany) or a democratic monarchy (i.e. Canada and the UK).  The main difference is that legally the power sits with the people in the first instance and with the queen in the latter. There is no fundamental disagreement between having a republic and having a democracy.

What ALL of these countries have set up is a constitution limiting the power of the leaders.  The constitutions are fraying in some cases but they are there.

Lets flip this on its head and talk about authoritarian examples of both. Authoritarian dictatorships are easy - all we do is look at fascist Germany and Italy to see how they bent the constitutional, democratic rules to gain power and then killed the democratic process to have absolute control.  Any banana republic with a military general is roughly the same.

Authoritarian republics are interesting because they begin with a Lenin or Mao or Maduro who come to power with an anti-monarchist and maybe anti-corporate agenda. Usually they end up banning meaningful elections as well, and it is very quickly difficult to discern their leadership from the authoritarian dictatorship.

 

The key in all of these is not just to have a constitution, but to have people who understand the constitution and are not willing to allow it to be subverted. The constitution is not enough. Once the people of a country have been corrupted to a significant level it becomes just a piece of paper that they will do away with.

Edited February 24, 2020 by Geoff Guenther
Removed the parallel between monarchy and dictatorship. Authoritarian monarchies are dictatorships.

[Anthony Okrongly + 114]

18 minutes ago, Geoff Guenther said:

People everywhere are getting this absolutely wrong and much of this is subversion of the English language by people trying to engage peoples' tribal instincts.  To have a proper conversation on this, we HAVE to return to simple definitions, understanding that everyone has a slightly different take.

Republic: a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.
vs.
Monarchy or Dicatatorship: a form of government with a monarch at the head.

Democracy: a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives [or referenda].
vs.
Authoritarianism: the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.

You can have a democratic republic (i.e. the US and Germany) or a democratic monarchy (i.e. Canada and the UK).  The main difference is that legally the power sits with the people in the first instance and with the queen in the latter. There is no fundamental disagreement between having a republic and having a democracy.

What ALL of these countries have set up is a constitution limiting the power of the leaders.  The constitutions are fraying in some cases but they are there.

Lets flip this on its head and talk about authoritarian examples of both. Authoritarian dictatorships are easy - all we do is look at fascist Germany and Italy to see how they bent the constitutional, democratic rules to gain power and then killed the democratic process to have absolute control.  Any banana republic with a military general is roughly the same.

Authoritarian republics are interesting because they begin with a Lenin or Mao or Maduro who come to power with an anti-monarchist and maybe anti-corporate agenda. Usually they end up banning meaningful elections as well, and it is very quickly difficult to discern their leadership from the authoritarian dictatorship.

 

The key in all of these is not just to have a constitution, but to have people who understand the constitution and are not willing to allow it to be subverted. The constitution is not enough. Once the people of a country have been corrupted to a significant level it becomes just a piece of paper that they will do away with.

That's an absolute Joke. The "citizens" who lived in Wehrmacht Germany absolutely loved their life. The "outsiders" weren't so lucky. Do you think people in China sit in oppression under their "non-constitution?" They feel no different than YOU feel.  They are patriotic. They go to work. Their "system" is right. Yea.. if they go sideways with the rules then they have a bad day.. Guess what? If you go sideways with the rules here you have a bad day.  Rule #1, use money and go to work. You break that rule and you will pay for it with your life. 

What "meaninful election?"  Name one Meaningful Election America ever had?  The one thing the people in power have allowed America to do is to include more people in the vote.  We added non-land owners, we added women, we added minorities.  Children below the age of 18 are still enslaved, but we all agree with their enslavement, so it's OK. 

People in China don't get the American Internet so they are oppressed? They have exactly the same rights you do.  The right to work. That's your right. All the rest is simply labels. America is FREE and BENIGN?  Sure... as long as you aren't on the receiving end of a missile strike or a drone attack. WE all agree that WE can blow up THEM.  WE all agree that THEY can be cut off from SWIFT financial transactions so it's OK with US.  The fact they THEY die of disentery or live in oppression because if it doesn't matter to US. 

The only difference is who we consider US.  After a while of considering black slaves in America THEM... we were all in agreement that they weren't worthy of the same rights as US. Then THEY were allowed to be US.  It's all just labels. Why do we spend $700 billion on our military (more than the next 10 countries combined).  It's to control THEM.  We can blow THEM up.  We can sanction THEM. 

These ideas you are touting are just semantics. They are words.without any real meaning. If you lived in a dictatorship, a commune, a oligarchy, or in a Martian Utopia your life would be the same.  You would go to work and the people who owned everything would rent your life to you in exchange. You are a bacteria in a petri dish. Does it matter what color cloth is covering it?  AMERICA!

There is no limit on the power of our leaders.  There is a limit on the power of our politicians.  Our politicians are not our leaders.  Our constitution describes our working conditions in a financial fiefdom. It doesn't control the financial fiefdom. 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Anthony Okrongly