The 'Democracy' that disappoints

Editor's note: In a recent interview, U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett likened Washington to "an open sewer," with "everything flowing in and nothing flowing out." In this video, we take a look at how a gridlocked U.S. political system, under the guise of 'democracy,' erodes the safety, confidence, and future of the youth.

In 2021, Harvard University did a poll on young Americans. It found only 7 percent of those aged 18 to 29 years view the U.S. as a "healthy democracy." 52 percent believe the American democracy is either "in trouble" or "failing." By late 2023, it was still grim. The Civic Outlook of Young Adults in America shows that 52 percent have no or little trust in the government institutions. 57 percent of young adults are dissatisfied with the U.S. political system.

Yascha Mounk, a lecturer on Political Theory at Harvard University, said that "for most Americans, a lot of the reason why they supported liberal democracy has always been that it delivered for them…For young people, that's no longer true." "Delivered," that's the key word. The U.S. political system doesn't deliver. Let's take one of the most talked about issues that's affecting young people: School shootings.

A graphic made by CNN shows the number of school shootings each year since 2008. The light purple on the graph represents the number of school shootings that had occurred by the 66th day of each year. You can see that this year, on the 66th day which was March 6, there had already been 16 school shootings, more than any of these previous years had. According to studies on the subject, the number of such incidents in the last five years combined is substantially higher than in the prior 20 years.

What has the U.S. government done to address it?

Channel 4's Europe Editor and Presenter Matt Frei said in an interview that "despite incremental moves, you know, up and down, it is so much easier to go into a gun shop or to go into a gun fair or go online and buy essentially the kind of weapon that you might use on the battlefield, but you should not be having under your mattress." ReasonTV described in a segment that "the new gun law is not an inspiring example of bipartisan cooperation to protect public safety. It's an illustration of how the worst instincts of both major parties combine to produce policies that are neither just nor sensible."

Another example of this would be climate. Faith Soliven, a high school student at Maui High School, told PBS that "we are going to be the ones carrying the weight of this role on our shoulders. And in the future, we are going to be the ones that’ll be cleaning up everyone else's mess." Esau Sinnok at the University of Alaska said "climate change isn't just a political issue for me. It is my home."

A Washington Post - University of Maryland Poll found that 59 percent of voters 18-29 years old disapprove of the current administration's handling of the climate policy. CNN's analysis shows that U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to end fossil fuel drilling on public land during the 2020 campaign. But after facing difficulties, the administration resumed auctioning off public land for drilling. Youth climate group Sunrise Movement's executive director told CNN "Joe Biden can't both try and win the votes of young people who care about the climate crisis and stand beside fossil fuel companies who are trying to violate our futures."

But whether it's guns, climate, or other issues that youth are invested in, they are counting on the government to provide the solution. They need the government to provide the solution. But the government just isn't capable of doing that. In a recent interview, U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett likened Washington to "an open sewer," with "everything flowing in and nothing flowing out." "Everybody just wants to stay in power, ma'am. It has nothing to do with doing what's right," he said.

This is what "nothing to do with doing what's right" looks like: The 118th Congress is considered to be one of the "least functional sessions" ever. It passed only 34 bills in the first year. According to ABC, it is the lowest number of bills passed in the first year since the Great Depression. Punchbowl News Co-Founder John Bresnahan told CNN that "I've been covering the Hill for 30 years. I've never seen it this bad. I can't remember where anything, anytime they get any forward momentum, especially in the House, the hardline conservatives just try to pull their leadership in."

In October 2023, the same hardline conservatives removed the sitting Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. It was the first time in history that a sitting speaker was ousted. And then it took 21 days, 21 hours, 9 minutes, 2 seconds, and 15 rounds of vote to find a new leader. U.S. Representative Ken Buck believes "It is the worst year of the nine years and three months I've been in Congress. And having talked to former members, it's the worst year in 40, 50 years to be in Congress."

Young people are particularly sensitive to Washington's dysfunction. Pew Research Center's data finds that compared to their parents and grandparents, young adults are less likely to see a great deal of difference between the two major parties. And they are less likely to say that either party represents the interests of people like them well. Nearly half of them wish to have more political parties to choose from. Jessica Carpenter, Director of Marketing & Communication of BridgeUSA, said that "when they don't see follow through, or they are kind of let down again by their political leader, it just reinstates that thought of why should I even participate in this." CEO of BridgeUSA Manu Meel said "it looks like American democracy is losing. It's no longer an inferiority complex between foreign democracies. It is that people don't view the United States, in my opinion, as the pinnacle that it used to be."

In the Eurasia Group's 2024 Top Risks Report, Risk No. 1 is characterized as The United States vs. itself. It says: "America's political system is more dysfunctional than that of any other advanced industrial democracy…and in 2024 faces further weakening." By the looks of it, the democracy that has disappointed so many will continue to disappoint the future.

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