American Democracy Faces 9 Death Wishes | By Louie Overstreet
June 15, 2021 by agutting@reviewjournal.com
Filed under Community
American Democracy Faces 9 Death Wishes
BY LOUIE OVERSTREET
Judging by our nation’s actions, much of the world (some here in America) and I have concluded that, when it comes to maintaining a democracy, America has a death wish. I can think of 9 unranked events or behaviors that are signs of the destructive forces now arrayed against democracy.
9. It is a death wish for tens of millions of Americans to buy the BIG LIE that the 2020 election was stolen from the most corrupt President in our history.
8. It is a death wish to try to sweep under the rug riotous acts of rebellion committed by citizens foolish enough to buy the BIG LIE.
7. It is a death wish to have a justice system that allows police to kill unarmed citizens during traffic stops, yet locks up hundreds of thousands of people by treating addiction as a crime and not as a health issue.
6. One political party has the death wish to destroy the two-party system that has elected a Democrat or Republican to the presidency since Whig party member Millard Fillmore was elected in the mid-1800s.
5. Beating the drums of 21st century tribalism is a death wish smoke signal created from the fire of racism.
4. It is an economic death wish to sustain a wealth caste system where there are 642 billionaires, 34,000,000 poor folks, and a government that runs annual trillion- dollar deficits providing services that people do not want to be taxed for receiving.
3. Using religious values as bigoted societal wedge issues is a death wish.
2. Attempts at oppressing the liberties of large segments of the population, most notably the right to vote, is a death wish.
1. It is a death wish to reject life-saving science — yet up to 30% of Americans are doing just that.
If you happen to know the three of us — Chicken Little, Robert Ripley, and myself — then please understand that the democracy sky is falling, you can believe it or not, and I told you so!