In the wake of recent Supreme Court rulings, I think we can safely put to rest the notion that the United States is “the world’s greatest democracy,” as politicians like to proclaim. These rulings, by six unelected reactionary justices, run counter to the will of the people as measured by numerous reputable polls.
Here are the most flagrant recent examples:
• A woman’s right to an abortion is supported by 55% of Americans (Gallup); among those most affected (18-34 year olds) it rises to 67%. Yet the Court’s Catholic majority, ignoring the Constitution’s separation of church and state, has now removed such a right.
• Restricting people’s ability to carry concealed guns in public is favored by 57% of the US public (Pew); yet the court recently struck down New York State’s law which did just that.
• Recognizing climate change as an emergency, if not an existential threat, and having the federal government lead the response to it is favored by more than 60% of the US public (NBC; Quinnipiac). Yet the court has now ruled, by the usual 6-3 margin, to instead weaken the government’s power and hand it over to the fossil fuel industry.
Even before these latest rulings, a recent Gallup poll found that only 25% of Americans have confidence in today’s Supreme Court, a new low in Gallup polling going back to 1979. This finding is part of a broader trend in recent years, to the 2008 Heller ruling that canceled half of the 217-year-old Second Amendment and to the court’s 2010 Citizens United decision giving corporations free rein when it comes to political campaign funding.
The first of these decisions has led to an upsurge in gun sales and to gun violence. In the decade after Heller, the number of guns in America surged from 304 million to 395 million, an increase of 29%. School shootings increased by 240%, and overall gun deaths by 17%.
The Citizens United decision opened the floodgates to massive election spending by Big Money, now the dominant factor in election outcomes.
The United States was the world’s first democracy, a laurel we can be justly proud of. But it had numerous undemocratic flaws from the start, especially in how the president is elected, how power is allocated in the Senate, and how the Supreme Court is constituted.
Other countries around the world have since drawn inspiration from our Constitution while avoiding its flaws. As a result, they are far more democratic. According to U.S.-based Freedom House, we now rank only tied for 59th among the world’s democracies. The Economist Intelligence Unit puts the United States in its “Flawed Democracies” category.
We Americans would do well to swallow our pride and study the dozens of other nations that do much better.
Tom Huckin
Tom Huckin is an emeritus professor of English, University of Utah. He is a longtime resident of Salt Lake City and is proud to have created his neighborhood’s first xeriscape 31 years ago.