There has been recent discussion on the political system of America. It has taken us several hundred years to be at the current state of modern government that we are at today. Stepping back and taking a look at who holds power in our democracy is essential in being able to understand how the country is run. However, it is not an easy or simple task to put a single label onto the entirety of what our democracy is. Every government, including ours, is complex in its own way. Going off of this, I believe that the current state of politics in America is a mix of Pluralism and Elitism.
Pluralism, first of all is a natural give in when it comes to our country. America is made up of a culturally, racially and religiously diverse group of people. Due to the immense amount of this diversity, compromises are a true must for a peaceful coexistence between these groups.
In our society, everyone's opinion and point of view are taken into consideration before a final decision is made. In this way, citizens have an overall indirect influence on certain matters. There are several different large groups that hold major influence over the US. (Different religious community's, LGBT community, etc). Also, the voting system is another example of how the people hold power. People complain about the president or several other politicians within the government, but the harsh reality of the situation is that we essentially put them in office (excluding the president's cabinet). We are the driving force of the government.
Finally, a very recent issue is the confederate statue debate in New Orleans. Considering the vast majority of different/ diverse groups of people, the statues were ultimately taken down back in May 2017. The Mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, gathered the different opinions and perspectives of the citizens within the situation and ultimately decided that the best choice was to take down the statues which sparked up major controversy and debate.
Elitism is also a driving force in our political system. It's leaders include corporate leaders, top military officials and a handful of politicians. The leaders exclusively serve the interests of the top elites. Trump's Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is a man of many connections and ex chairman/ CEO of ExxonMobil Corp. However, he is no politician nor does he have any experience in government. He is an example of how corporate leaders play a large hand in who has power in the US Democracy. A more recent and jaw dropping event that relates to this theory is a man named Joe Arpaio. Joe Arpaio was the former Sherriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. He is known for racial profiling, lack of care/ empathy towards the health or well being of prison inmates and was on trial for criminal contempt. His reputation for being the harshest Sherriff was well known and when he was finally going to be punished for his crimes, Trump pardoned Joe from his punishment. Keep in mind that Arpaio represented Trump in the Republican Convention back in the 2016 election. Arpaio helped Trump, and now Trump has returned the favor.
Essentially, the main point of this post that our democracy is complex and cannot simply be described by one singular theory.
Some articles and a video on the Joe Arpaio situation:
Trump paronds Arpaio
- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/us/politics/joe-arpaio-trump-pardon-sheriff-arizona.html?mcubz=3
Arpaio convicted of criminal contempt
- http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/31/us/arpaio-found-guilty/index.html
Trump makes a mess for Arizona GOP with Arpaio pardon
- http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/26/politics/trump-arizona-arpaio-jeff-flake/index.html
John Oliver: Last Week Tonight
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZNZY-gd3K0
New Orleans Statue Articles:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/19/us/new-orleans-confederate-monuments/index.html
http://www.npr.org/2017/05/20/529232823/with-lee-statues-removal-another-battle-of-new-orleans-comes-to-a-close