The USA likes to insist that war between Russia and Ukraine is all about fighting for freedom and democracy in Ukraine.
But how consistent and steadfast has the USA's supposed commitment to democratic governments been?
I could easily point out many brutal dictators that USA has long supported and still would again.
But let's focus upon the conditional nature of many Americans' approval of democratic elections for themselves.
About all Americans love to profess that the USA is and always has been absolutely devoted to the ideal of democracy everywhere.
(Except for the Palestinians, of course, but I could write a book on that subject.)
I have challenged this smug contention by proposing this thought experiment.
A conversation like this has already taken place between some 'friendly' white Americans and me on at least several occasions.
I: You say that you believe in democracy? What does democracy mean to you? Does it include the universal right to vote?
Ami: Of course, it does.
I: Do you believe that every mentally competent adult (at least without a major criminal record) should have an equal right to vote?
Ami: Yes, I do.
I: Now let's suppose that the USA and China were united as one country with one government, whose leaders would be elected
by the adult citizens in both places. That is, every adult citizen now of the USA or China could vote in the same election for
the same president. What do you think of that hypothetical scenario?
Ami: It sounds weird, so far-fetched. Americans and Chinese voting in the same election? How could that possibly work?
I: China now has a population of more than 1400 million, overwhelmingly Han Chinese. The USA now has a population of
about 333 million, of which slightly less than 75% are white. That means that white Americans would be a rather small
minority of the eligible voters. Do you understand some of what that could imply?
Ami: Hmm, wouldn't that mean that real Americans--even if we all stuck together--could get easily outvoted by the Chinese?
I: That's certainly possible. What do you think of that?
Ami: That doesn't sound fair. I mean, that's just not right. It should not be possible for us to lose any election to the Chinese.
I: But why not? Did you not earlier say that you believe in the universal right to vote?
Within the same country, should not white Americans and Chinese have the equal right to vote?
Ami: Well, maybe in theory, but this is different. It's just not practical.
I: How so? Do you mean that most white Americans never would accept an election as fair or legitimate if the white
American candidate that they supported were to get fewer votes than a Chinese candidate?
Ami: I don't like saying it, but, yeah, I don't think that most Americans could ever accept a system like what you described.
Thank God that we're just talking about a fictional scenario.
Returning to real life, the USA now is undergoing a 'crisis of democracy', as many white Americans are frightened of a future
where non-Hispanic white people will soon become a minority in the USA. Many white Americans have responded by
supporting campaigns to suppress voting by non-white minorities.
Given a choice between fully democratic voting and continuing white-dominated political rule with a slight white majority
(soon to become a white minority), many white Americans evidently would prefer permanent white rule over democracy.
If white Americans were ever confronted with a future where they would be a rather small minority in an overwhelmingly
non-white country, then I expect that many, if not most, of them would rather go to war, perhaps even a nuclear war.
My general point is that the supposed American devotion to democracy is conditional, inconsistent, and often deeply hypocritical.
I don't really believe that the USA's 'fighting for democracy' (assuming that it actually would fight) in Ukraine.
If Russia were to offer seriously to ally with the USA against China, would not the USA find a pretext to sell out Ukraine
and recognize Russia's sovereignty over at least the Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine?
But how consistent and steadfast has the USA's supposed commitment to democratic governments been?
I could easily point out many brutal dictators that USA has long supported and still would again.
But let's focus upon the conditional nature of many Americans' approval of democratic elections for themselves.
About all Americans love to profess that the USA is and always has been absolutely devoted to the ideal of democracy everywhere.
(Except for the Palestinians, of course, but I could write a book on that subject.)
I have challenged this smug contention by proposing this thought experiment.
A conversation like this has already taken place between some 'friendly' white Americans and me on at least several occasions.
I: You say that you believe in democracy? What does democracy mean to you? Does it include the universal right to vote?
Ami: Of course, it does.
I: Do you believe that every mentally competent adult (at least without a major criminal record) should have an equal right to vote?
Ami: Yes, I do.
I: Now let's suppose that the USA and China were united as one country with one government, whose leaders would be elected
by the adult citizens in both places. That is, every adult citizen now of the USA or China could vote in the same election for
the same president. What do you think of that hypothetical scenario?
Ami: It sounds weird, so far-fetched. Americans and Chinese voting in the same election? How could that possibly work?
I: China now has a population of more than 1400 million, overwhelmingly Han Chinese. The USA now has a population of
about 333 million, of which slightly less than 75% are white. That means that white Americans would be a rather small
minority of the eligible voters. Do you understand some of what that could imply?
Ami: Hmm, wouldn't that mean that real Americans--even if we all stuck together--could get easily outvoted by the Chinese?
I: That's certainly possible. What do you think of that?
Ami: That doesn't sound fair. I mean, that's just not right. It should not be possible for us to lose any election to the Chinese.
I: But why not? Did you not earlier say that you believe in the universal right to vote?
Within the same country, should not white Americans and Chinese have the equal right to vote?
Ami: Well, maybe in theory, but this is different. It's just not practical.
I: How so? Do you mean that most white Americans never would accept an election as fair or legitimate if the white
American candidate that they supported were to get fewer votes than a Chinese candidate?
Ami: I don't like saying it, but, yeah, I don't think that most Americans could ever accept a system like what you described.
Thank God that we're just talking about a fictional scenario.
Returning to real life, the USA now is undergoing a 'crisis of democracy', as many white Americans are frightened of a future
where non-Hispanic white people will soon become a minority in the USA. Many white Americans have responded by
supporting campaigns to suppress voting by non-white minorities.
Given a choice between fully democratic voting and continuing white-dominated political rule with a slight white majority
(soon to become a white minority), many white Americans evidently would prefer permanent white rule over democracy.
If white Americans were ever confronted with a future where they would be a rather small minority in an overwhelmingly
non-white country, then I expect that many, if not most, of them would rather go to war, perhaps even a nuclear war.
My general point is that the supposed American devotion to democracy is conditional, inconsistent, and often deeply hypocritical.
I don't really believe that the USA's 'fighting for democracy' (assuming that it actually would fight) in Ukraine.
If Russia were to offer seriously to ally with the USA against China, would not the USA find a pretext to sell out Ukraine
and recognize Russia's sovereignty over at least the Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine?