this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2025
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What is your line in the sand?

Edit: thank you all for your responses. I think it's important as an American we take your view points seriously. I think of a North Korean living inside of North Korea. They don't really know how bad it is because that is all hidden from them and they've never had anything else. As things get worse for Americans it's important to have your voices because we will become more and more isolated.

Even the guy who said, "lol." Some people need that sort of sobering reaction.

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[–] Aiala@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

In some aspects, but no more than china. (spaniard here)

[–] cdnwaffleiron@lemmy.ca 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)
[–] OceanSoap@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Democracy is an umbrella term. These are the types of democracy the US is:

  1. Representative Democracy

  2. Constitutional Democracy

  3. Presidential Democracy

  4. Liberal Democracy

Types of Democracy the US is not:

  1. Direct Democracy

  2. Parliamentary Democracy

  3. Illiberal Democracy

  4. Participatory Democracy

  5. Social Democracy

So yes, it's a democracy.

[–] yata@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

You are confusing a lot of pol science terms, as well as using some which aren't part of pol science at all.

All modern democracies are representative democracies, as in voters votes for representatives to represent them. Switzerland has elements of direct democracy, but on a foundation of representative democracy as well. Constitutional, presidential and liberal democracy are not an actual meaningful terms in political science.

Technically the US is a representative democracy, but I am pretty sure OPs is asking about the practice of the thing. And the practice is very different from the written word about how it was supposed to be, especially this recent presidential term.

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[–] dadjokesfordays@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 days ago

Nope. I see it as an autocracy run by an elite oligarchy.

[–] lonesomeCat@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 days ago

Is anywhere really?

[–] Belinea@toot.kif.rocks 2 points 6 days ago
[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 days ago

I guess, I'd say it's a democracy-in-progress currently. I mean, all democracies always are, but the US perhaps a bit more. Seeing the protests is a very good sign, though.

[–] Nangijala@feddit.dk 2 points 6 days ago (2 children)

The short answer: yes.

The long answer: it will take a long time to completely dismantle a democracy in a country as big and complex as America. You don't just do that in three months.

All trump has done so far is move as fast as possible to make as much of a mess as possible in the hopes that some of his nutty ideas goes through once the system catches up to him. And the system will catch up to him and Musk and all the other cunts who are having their little ego fest currently.

I have patience. Kind of. I look forward to seeing the consequences of their actions come to haunt them. I also hope this period in American politics will be the wake up call America needs to hopefully bar politicians and political parties from taking donations from big corps essentially try to buy the government and weaken true democracy from flourishing. The US isn't the only country with this problem, but it is certainly neck deep in one of the worst outcomes of letting big corporations take ownership of a government.

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[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee -1 points 6 days ago

We are mostly a democracy but it's crumbling. Trump has ignored judges and stuff and causing a real shit fest. But for the most part, the people elected for this. Now if the people get their heads out of the asses and vote this guy out, but he's still president, then it's not a democracy.

[–] DasFaultier@sh.itjust.works 132 points 1 week ago (1 children)

See, as a German, when I see a country go down the same route as the Weimar Republic after handing over the power to the Nazi party, I think it's just very obvious. Hitler took some two months to completely destroy democracy, and the US are juuust in the middle of that. History doesn't repeat, but sometimes it rhymes, and the similarities are just remarkable.

So yeah, I guess that would be a big fat trench in the sand.

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[–] JacksonLamb@lemmy.world 94 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

still consider

It has only two political parties, and a weird system where all votes are not equal and the actual vote majority doesn't always win.

It has frequently had multiple people from the same families running for office, and only wealthy people have a shot. Corporations get to lobby for laws in their favour.

It also spies on its own citizens, holds people indefinitely without trial, has a huge prison population, a militarized police with a high homicide rate, and is the only western nation with the death penalty.

Trump and Musk are laying bare how fragile the veneer of "democracy" really is in that country.

[–] TeamAssimilation@infosec.pub 5 points 6 days ago

To be honest, not even from the start was it a true democracy, the Electoral College is a layer on top of democracy to give different weight to each vote.

[–] Brownandoffended@lemm.ee 56 points 1 week ago

A struggling democracy, in the beginning of an Orban/Hungary-like overtake of the country.

Its possible to revert, but you seem to have atleast a 1/3 of the country that would walk down a straight up facist line willingly and happily do so.

You need to fix your shit america.

[–] SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world 50 points 1 week ago

Line in the sand? Going after political opponents. Censoring information. Dismantling media. Abandoning rule of law. Business and government mixing too much.

USA is speed running these.

[–] zonnewin@feddit.nl 42 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I consider it an autocratic regime with strong fascist characteristics.

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[–] TeaWalker@lemm.ee 35 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Am Dutch. I have considered the US an incomplete democracy since I learned about voting in school. It’s not one person one vote, which to me is crucial for a democracy. The US right now is still a nation of laws, but democracy is sharply in decline. The voter-roll issues and Gerrymandering come to mind immediately. Not to mention the fact that guaranteed access to polls has been pulled by the courts. Which is insane to me.

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[–] TheFeatureCreature@lemmy.world 34 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Canadian here.

Before Trump? Ehhh, not really. I've always viewed the US as a place where you vote for which oligarch-backed monarch you'd want to put in absolute power for 4 years. Every 4/8 years the new incoming overlord just rips up whatever the previous one did and nothing of substance is actually achieved.

After Trump 2.0? No. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Trump is going to surrender all that power he and the GOP have accumulated. And why would he? He doesn't have to. He literally controls every branch of government that he can and ignores those that he doesn't. If the US ever has another election it will purely be for show, like China's elections. The mask is now fully off and the charade of US democracy is over as those who actually wield the power now do so openly on their sleeves.

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