Losing Democracy in America

Could we be the generation that loses democracy in America? What a shameful state of affairs: dumbed down by mainstream media and failed schools, numbed by violence and fear, cowed by groupthink and distracted by celebrity, sports and porn, today's Americans obediently shuffle towards despotism.

Previous generations of Americans fought and died to end English domination, to stop slavery, to form labor unions, to get the right to vote and to abolish segregation.

Yet, our current crop of citizens lounges slothfully upon overstuffed couches as their government taps their phones without warrant, searches their mail without cause, imprisons fellow citizens without bringing charges, suspends habeas corpus and due process, and carries out torture in violation of international law, numerous treaties, basic common sense and Judeo-Christian morality.

A war based on outright lies "that will not end in our lifetimes" is waged to further enrich the super-wealthy, while fearful Americans allow the banning of photography of flag-draped coffins or of killed Iraqis or Americans. Meanwhile, the Defense Secretary uses an automatic pen to "sign" letters of condolence to the parents of killed U.S. service members.

Electronic voting machines made by partisan corporations make American elections unverifiable; exit polling says one presidential candidate is the winner, while supposed election results favor the man from the regime in power. Nobody seems to care, except John Conyers.

The regime in power wages culture wars upon liberals, journalists, women, homosexuals and minorities. They hate Michael Moore and the Dixie Chicks with more venom and vitriol than they can muster up for Osama bin Laden himself, who enjoys apparent total immunity in Pakistan.

Meantime, debt-laden, bargain-addled American shoppers clobber one another to be first through Wal-Mart's doors to consume cheaply made products produced entirely in near-sweatshop conditions in Asia and Latin America. Factories and businesses throughout this country close their doors and fire their employees, undone by antique business models that incorporate workers rights, pensions and the environment into the equation. America's once mighty manufacturing base lies in smithereens, as China becomes an exporting giant, giving us mind-boggling trade deficits.

I still love my country, but these are bad times for the U.S. How will future generations of Americans, our grandchildren, view us and judge our actions? How can we redeem ourselves in the eyes of the world? Where do we go from here?