Photos: Wikimedia Commons\YouTube
Three years ago, a violent mob stormed the United States Capitol with the hope of overturning the results of the presidential election. The images Americans saw that day made visibly clear what many of us have realized for a long time:
Our democracy was under severe attack.
But the truth is that the attack on our democracy goes far deeper than the violence of January 6, 2021 and right-wing authoritarians like Donald Trump.
Our democracy is under attack from Republicans in Congress and in state legislatures across the country who are doing everything in their power to suppress the vote and make it harder for people of color and young people to vote. These political cowards are also engaging in extreme gerrymandering and are drawing the lines of their districts so they pick their voters instead of voters picking their representatives. They are intent on establishing permanent majorities.
Our democracy is under attack when many Republicans, at all levels of government, promote the Big Lie that the presidential election was stolen and increasingly call into question the results of any election they lose.
Our democracy is under attack when election officials are being harassed and threatened and when efforts are being made to allow partisan legislatures to determine election winners and losers.
But let’s be clear. It is not just the subversion of democratic norms and voting rights that is undermining our democracy.
Our democracy is also under attack because all across this country people increasingly believe democracy itself, and our government, does not work for them.
For the vast majority of Americans there is a huge disconnect between the reality of their lives and what goes on in Washington, D.C. The people see the politicians talking, talking and talking, they watch the 30 second TV ads and they hear the promises that are made — but never kept.
They remember what Lincoln said about “government of the people, by the people and for the people,” and they know how far removed we are from that today.
They see the very rich become much richer while politicians and the corporate media ignore the collapse of the middle class and the painful realities facing working families — low wages, dead end jobs, debt, homelessness, lack of health care or educational opportunity, declining life expectancy, substance abuse, impoverished retirement.
So yes, in the year 2024 we must do everything we can to make sure Donald Trump is defeated and defeated soundly in the next election.
But, if we are really going to save democracy and make it relevant to people’s lives, we must boldly address the long-neglected crises facing the working people of this country.
In other words, dare I say, we need a government that represents the needs of ordinary Americans and not just wealthy campaign contributors.
The choice before us is whether we move into oligarchy, where our economic and political life is dominated by a handful of billionaires, or whether we create a vibrant democracy where the voices of the people are heard, and where their needs are addressed.
Nothing less than the future of our democracy is at stake.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders represents the state of Vermont.
