The 'threat to democracy' rhetoric

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

The criticisms against President Trump boil down to two issues.

We will dismiss the first one quickly: “He calls people names.” Really? I know families where blood relatives call each other worse names than I have ever heard from President Trump. Should they or President Trump call other people names? Of course not, but it is the world we live in today (ever watch television?).

The other issue is that President Trump is “a threat to democracy.” Merriam-Webster says democracy is “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.” Based on this definition, do you feel like you live in a democracy? I don’t.

What I hear from President Trump is that he would like to return us to a condition of democracy. And from here is where the howl originates.

Nearly a third of the people in this country (citizens and illegal immigrants) receive handouts from the government. This is not democracy; this is socialism.

The federal payroll, excluding the military, is around 2.2 million people. This 2.2 million has spouses, parents and children. Easily, 10 million people have a vested interest in federal paychecks when you count all the family members.

This level of federal employment is the direct result of regulations and socialistic programs developed by the federal government.

So, a third of the population – plus 10 million – are dependent on the federal government. And many of them think this is democracy, when it really is socialism.

Of course, many of them were born and grew up under this level of socialism. They have no memory of when this country was really a democracy (one would have to go back to the times before the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt to find our country to largely operate as a democracy).

We can have sympathy for these two groups of people I have described here. They are terrified they might lose their place at the government’s largess. They can imagine what they would do without the handouts.

But let’s quit accusing President Trump of being a threat to democracy. He is not.

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. 

* * *

••• Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.