A First-Person Claim That American Democracy Has Been Undermined
The author argues that systemic racism, the Electoral College, and recent Supreme Court rulings have eroded the democratic foundations of the United States.
In a reflective essay, the writer describes a lineage of oppression—from slavery to segregation to anti-LGBTQ+ persecution—and claims that contemporary institutions have deepened that legacy. The piece points to two 21st-century elections where the Electoral College overrode the popular vote, warning that future census-driven reapportionment could increase such outcomes. It highlights the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which eliminated race-based remedies under the Voting Rights Act, and earlier rulings that treat extreme gerrymandering as a permissible political goal.
The author connects these judicial moves to the withdrawal of federal health resources for minority communities and to military deployments ordered without public input. By invoking historic civil-rights struggles and recent court cases, the essay concludes that the United States no longer functions as a true democracy.
Why it matters
It warns that legal and electoral changes may be disenfranchising large segments of the population.
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