Democratic Illusion 
by Mumia Abu-Jamal, 1996 

"I know of no country in which there is so little true independence of mind and freedom of discussion as in America."  
-- Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835) 

The lowest percentage of voting, of all those eligible, in a presidental election in the last 60 years, was in 1988, during Dukakis-Bush, where 50.2% of the American electorate voted. 

Until now. 

The 1996 presidential elections marked the time less than half of the electorate even bothered to show up at the voting booth -- less than half -- 49.4%. 

In a system that is supposedly run on "majority rules," how can any election, where a minority percentage even participated, be a fair election? 

Indeed, since 1932, the Federal Election Commission reports, the highest percentage of voting took place in 1960, the Kennedy-Nixon election, when 62.8% of the electorate turned out. It has declined steadily since then.  

The democratic idea rests upon the notion that the state represents majority will, but how can that be when only a minority even participates?  

For the tens of millions who refrain from voting, who represents them? 

For the millions who exist on the razor's edge of poverty, who represents them? 

To the millions of so-called "Americans" who beg for bread in city streets, who barely scrape up enough to hold body and soul together, who sleep, fitfully, in subways, who represents them? 

America's political leadership, who pissed on the poor in an orgy of contempt, are men and women of property, who represent the interest of their monied masters of capital, are, if not themselves millionaires, well on their way. 

Lincoln talked about government of, by, and for the people. It wasn't that then, for only propertied white men could participate (poor white men couldn't). It's not that now, for property, wealth, capital calls the tune, and determines who runs, who falls and who wins. The U.S. Senate has been called a millionaire's club. Almost the entire federal judiciary has been composed of millionaire lawyers. 

In this presidential election alone, over $800 million dollars was spent by the two major parties -- over $800 million! -- to garner minority percentage of eligible U.S. voters!  

Is that, in itself, not a condemnation of this sham democracy? 

Eighty percent of a billion dollars used to pay for a "free" election? Over three-fourths of a billions bucks to bankroll a democratic illusion, where the "House" (big business) wins no matter who loses. 

 ©1996 by Mumia Abu-Jamal