At the end of his first live show after the lockdowns ended, Dave Chappelle closed by warning that if we don't begin to take the concerns being expressed by the George Flynn protesters seriously and act upon them, rather than simply paying them lip service, we risk an ugly progression of the frustration into something more than protests (the last words spoken were a drawn-out "rat-a-tat--tat---tat----tat"). It wasn't a threat, but a warning - a warning of what can happen when the oppressed and downtrodden feel ignored and powerless.
It is not just the violence against blacks and other people of color. It is the lack of a voice. It is troubling how many still dismiss the violence with an "all lives matter" retort, but the dismissal of systematic disenfranchisement is even more troubling. From the Electoral College to Senate representation to gerrymandering to outright efforts at voter suppression, the combination of institutional violence with an intentionally limited voice in the halls of power is a dangerous and combustible mix.
We are all aware that Donald Trump won the presidency despite being favored by 3 million fewer American citizens than was his opponent. But are we aware that in 2018, the Democrats received 59.3% of the votes for the US senate, yet LOST two seats? Granted, California's method of running the top two primary vote getters - both Democrats - skewed those results, but even absent that aberration, the Democrats still out-polled the GOP 55/45, yet are in the minority in the upper chamber of congress.
In the House, Ohio is instructive. As the table below shows, the GOP edged the Democrats in statewide voting by a slim 52 to 47.3 percent margin, yet the GOP won 12 seats to the Democrats' four, a 3 to 1 ratio. Regardless one's political views, it is foolhardy to think folks in a nation that claims its government is of, by and for the people will continue to quietly and peacefully acquiesce to non-representation.
Conservative commentator David Frum has stated that if conservatives become convinced they cannot win democratically that they will not abandon conservatism, they will abandon democracy. No true believer in America, no one who truly loves this country and what its ideals proclaim to be, can accept or support such an outcome.
Much is made of the United States being a republic rather than a democracy. But a republic is not defined as a system where the minority rules, as has become the case today, where an ever-shrinking number of voters rely upon archaic rules and nefarious means to maintain a grip on power. Instead, a republic is meant to provide all segments of the citizenry with representative government in the truest sense of the word - a government that is representative of the wishes of the governed. The further we stray from that truth and the longer we ignore it, the greater the strife this nation will suffer. And it will not be the fault of the aggrieved, but of those who choose to look the other way. Eventually the day will come where the couple in St. Louis will become a metaphor for the American ruling class - fearful, gun-toting citizens hiding behind gated walls of their own making. We owe it to both our forefathers and our children to be better citizens than what we've become.
No comments:
Post a Comment