The United States is the world's first liberal democracy, a product of the The Enlightenment. As such, the founders built it on the principles of unity, liberty, tolerance and equal rights. And they designed it to make policy based on factual knowledge and bathed in the light of reason. But, today, in the time of Trump, factual knowledge is getting clouded over in several ways.

In the current debate concerning the proliferation of anti abortion laws, I keep hearing how men want to control women’s bodies. But this argument is belied by the number of women who support these bills including the governor of Alabama who signed their bill into law almost as soon as it was passed by the legislature.

Sorry to corrupt Shakespeare at the outset. But the sentiment is what matters on the days before this November 6 election. So, here is an excerpt from Harry’s speech:

“In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger.”

NOTE ONE

they'd undertake a massive campaign to educate users on how to tell the difference between claims and facts. They'd grace the People with the reasoning abilities to know when something is proven, disproven, or needs more information before deciding its value.

Teach people how rhetorical tricks and manipulative tactics are used on them. Teach people how trolls operate. How to check the sourcing, and whether there is more than one source.

John Adams must have shaken his head as he watched delegates to the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention filing into the West Room of the Statehouse on July 15, 1776. Across the hall in the East Room, Adams and his colleagues in the Continental Congress had recently voted to declare the thirteen colonies independence from Great Britain. Now the newly independent states would each have to create new "republican" constitutions. A month before, Adams had worried that the new constitutions would be influenced by a "spirit of leveling, as well as that of innovation." In the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, perhaps the most radically democratic in the world at the time, Adams worst fears would be realized.

I ran a website for years called Equitable Principles.

Here's a glimpse at the old site from the Wayback Machine.

This isn't the first time democracy and capitalism have clashed, but rarely has it been so obvious and with such high stakes. This is late stage capitalism, and the mask is off.

Don't get me wrong. I don't oppose raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Nor do I oppose the idea of a Universal Basic Income.
Both ideas are better than what we have now, and I'll be happy if either or both are implemented.

However, there is a flaw with both ideas that I just can't overlook:

Neither of these proposals empower the workers.

At this writing, it's still up in the air. I won't even guess. Well, I will. I think they'll miraculously come up with an agreement to avoid a shutdown and the serfs will heave a big sigh of relief and express gratitude that their political representatives running this country for them (right?) have done a solid for the U.S. of A.

USA! USA! USA! We're number One!

It's all a charade, a mockery, an act, a masquerade, a farce.

We don't live in a democracy, you know that don't you? Seems like everyone I say that to acknowledges it. They'll say, "well sure, it's not a democracy but a republic". Or, "yes of course, the rich control the government". Or, "well, the system of government is a representative democracy, but not a "real" democracy".

"I have certain rules I live by. My first rule: I don't believe anything the government tells me". George Carlin

Remember the good old days of Samantha Power and Colin Powell? Like with Trump as president, just when you think it can't get any worse, along comes Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

This is probably the most painful and the most controversial point about a republic.