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This is a posthumous Fog column.

Neither a Democracy

Nor a Christian Nation

We are spending billions trying to convince (in various ways) a lot of nations to convert to democracy...

...holding ourselves up as an example.

But, we're not a democracy.

Never have been.

I'm sure you know that we've "elected" people to the U.S. Presidency...

...after most Americans voted for someone else.

But, you probably assumed — with electoral college and all — that at least the most populous states...

...sort of swayed the results in favor of the majority.

Not true.

The way things have now been jerry-rigged...

...some of the smallest states in terms of population now have a greater proportion of political power.*

And some states that pay the least in taxes...

...end up getting the most handouts from the Federal Government.

Not much of a democracy.

And this discounts the fact that today, big business controls elections.

Not exactly a state secret for anyone who knows how things really work in Washington.

When you get down to it, we're a long way from a real democracy.

We also try to export our predominant religion...

... Christianity...

...while exemplifying few of its central concepts.

Remember Christ saying, "If you love me, feed the hungry?"

In terms of GNP percentage money given...

...the United States is at the bottom of the list of industrialized nations in looking after the poor and hungry of the world.**

Fact is, percentage-wise, nations where Christianity is a minority religion do much better.

And then there is the Biblical admonition of turning swords into plowshares ...

...while we spend 30 times more money making bombs and guns than we spend helping the poor and needy.

So tell me...

...how do we expect to convince anyone that democracy is the answer....

...and set ourselves up as the supreme example...

...when we don't really have a true democracy...

...or that Christianity is the superior religion...

...when as a self-proclaimed Christian nation we ignore its most central precepts?***

Maybe we hope that the rest of the world won't see this hypocrisy.

Unfortunately, most people in other industrialized countries...

...follow what's going on in the world...

...much more closely than most Americans...

...which probably explains a lot right there...

...including the fact that Americans can't figure out why we aren't liked all that much around the world.

Duh!

*In 2004, the 13 smallest states with a population of 18-million, carried more political weight than California with a population of 35-million.

In 2012 Republicans were enacting various methods to keep certain Democrat-leaning groups -- primarily college students and minorities--from being able to vote.

**Despite Washington rhetoric to the contrary, the latest available figures show that the percentage of United States income going to poor countries remains near rock bottom: 0.14 percent. At the same time Britain is at 0.34 percent, and France at 0.41 percent, Sweden at 0.79 percent, and Norway at 0.92 percent.

Meanwhile, a few days before Christmas, 2004, it was announced that the Bush administration ha further reduced its promised contribution to global food aid programs. The money was apparently needed to finance the Iraq war.

*** While extolling freedom and especially the freedom of religion, fundamentalist Christians openly use various means to debase other religious, philosophical and scientific beliefs.