An educational system that would best educate children into an ability to self-govern in their maturity, instead trains into compliance to capitalistic systems of obedience, dependence, and consumerism.  A prerequisite for freedom and equality is to be capable of thinking unshackled by hierarchical precepts.

C-Span again hosted a relevant conversation, this time on the topic of democracy  –https://www.c-span.org/video/?516689-2/washington-journal-news-headlines-viewer-callsDECEMBER 12, 2021  | PART OF WASHINGTON JOURNAL 12/12/2021

Washington Journal

Open Phones, Part 1

Viewers responded to the question, “Is U.S. democracy an example for the world?” Earlier in the week, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting Our Democracy Act, drawing only one Republican vote. Also, President Biden hosted a virtual Summit For Democracy, with dozens of world leaders addressing the challenges facing democracies worldwide as well as in the United States.–end of C-Span info–A woman called in to C-Span with the suggestion that we understand the definition of democracy, and so one offers—–a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.  –end of definition—–Another definition—-democracy | Definition, History, Meaning, Types, Examples …https://www.britannica.com › topic › democracyDemocracy is a system of government in which power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or through freely elected representatives.
Another caller mentioned that the number of Representatives has remained stagnant while the number of constituents has grown exponentially.  This has diluted the potency of a Representative government, perhaps to the point of dictatorship (last sentence is not the caller’s).  
Is this a reason Congress has become obviously ineffectual?  Rather than passing laws by which the public can freely and equally function, our so-called Representatives are protecting their positions of power.  And so a non-elected Supreme Court seems to act as a board of dictators, so to speak.  
One is interested in the repeated statements heard that “we are a representative Constitutional republic and not a democracy.  Again, people do democracy, Representatives represent constituents.  In 2021 the constituents apparently perceived by so-called Representatives of the People are big-money campaign donors.  This is due to the elephant in the room of Citizens United that has legalized corruption in our electoral process.  
In the excellent conversation about democracy, that Citizens United wasn’t mentioned seems based on capitalistic indoctrination.
The guest on C-Span at 11:16AM, speaking of the Pentagon revolving door, mentioned that the public trust in government has plummeted over the last 20 years (paraphrase).  What happened over those 20 years? –Summary. On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission overruling an earlier decision, Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce (Austin), that allowed prohibitions on independent expenditures by corporations.
Citizens United v. FEC https://www.fec.gov › legal-resources › court-cases › citiz…–end of Citizens United info–https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bill-clintons-legacy-is-our-financial-disaster   –During his final three years in office, Clinton created a fertile environment for home-lending charlatans, hiding places for Wall Street swindlers and a regulatory structure that had served the financial marketplace so well for more than six decades.–end of marketwatch info–
And while on the topic of capitalism, one thinks the same characters who say we are not a democracy, we are a Constitutional republic, often also say “our system is capitalism”.   The hypocrisy is flaming.
https://portside.org/2021-12-11/reproductive-justice-economic-justice      –Reproductive rights cannot be separated from economic and workplace rights: “When people have the ability to decide if, when, and how many children to have, they are able to make conscious determinations about other aspects of their lives, including education and work.” [the Lawyers’ Committee brief]–end of portside info–

Received from commondreams—-https://info.commondreams.org/acton/rif/33231/s-1234-2112/-/l-sf-lead-0014:5fb1/q-003c/showPreparedMessage?sid=TV2:jgptnisuA —Despite Trump Abuses, 208 House Republicans Vote Against Bill to Ensure ‘No President Is Above the Law’
‘Reckless Misuse of Resources’: House Approves $778 Billion Military BudgetRichest 1% Took 38% of New Global Wealth Since 1995. The Bottom Half Got Just 2%How Congress Loots the Treasury for the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex–end of commondreams info–

https://mailchi.mp/684eb4635c60/35b-from-us-taxpayers-funded-world-health-organization-58697?e=9050ba47ba      –Imagine… how will voters feel when they’re able to see and show corruption under a white-hot spotlight?

No media spin to cover dirty politicians. Just cold, hard facts.

OpenTheBooks is on a war footing and we have huge plans for 2022. –end of openthebooks info–
Life is easier for bought-and-paid-for politicians when constituents prefer guns to books—-https://twitter.com/KimOlsonTx/status/1469708724239540229?cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjcw%3D%3D&refsrc=email   —Arm children with books not bullets!–end of twitter info–
By the way, consider locally-owned bookstores where you can find books covering topics that may not be dictated by chain-store hierarchy.  In one region in the Southern Tier, The Book Vault on Washington Ave. in Endicott, NY,  is particularly inviting.
She could have been our President—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9lTauk4nx4       –Steven Donziger joins Marianne Williamson live after his release from prison to home confinement.

We have much work to do. 

We deserve better.      https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/league-refuses-help-perpetrate-fraud–LEAGUE REFUSES TO “HELP PERPETRATE A FRAUD”

WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FROM FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE–end of lwv info–Murray Bookchin, who founded social ecology, a theory that strongly influenced early Green Socialist thought, strongly advocated the discussion and study group as the first step of any revolutionary movement. A group of individuals meets to expand their knowledge of radical thought and form a radical intellectual community; through the give and take of discussion, can eventually form ideas for next steps in organizing and political activity. According to Bookchin, study groups help create solidarity and a shared language — with a shared coherent vision — for building a mass, organizing, political movement!
Along with Climate Change, many people oppose the imperialism of the USA under control of the Republican/Democratic duopoly.  Use of the wealth of our nation should be to enhance quality of life for We The People rather than for imperialism.  Some people vote accordingly.I———————–That “we are a 2-Party system” is a fabrication of the Republican/Democratic duopoly and spread by MSM.  In FACT the majority of voters aren’t either registered Democratic or Republican.  The censorship about this info must be envied by bureaucrats of the Former USSR and their simplistic style of 1-Party elections.  

Regardless of which character sits in the Oval Office, We The People have work to do to maintain principles of our democratic (small d) Constitutional republic.  Several items to challenge—*We need the integrity of ranked-choice voting so voters won’t feel compelled to “hold your nose and vote”*Censored debates must be stopped.  The Democratic/Republican duopoly pretends to legitimate debates in what is nothing other than another campaign show.  Independent debates run by uninterested sponsors such as The League of Women Voters, must be restored.  (Access www.debates.org to understand the extent of duopoly control).  The so-called Debate Commission is a corporation to promote the Democratic corporation and Republican corporation, not to inform We The People*Challenge and stop gerrymandering that is a trick especially of the Republican branch of the duopoly.*Stop voter suppression by political Parties, and especially confront and stop Party suppression, which is the over-arching approach to voter suppression.  Party suppression seems to have been the responsibility of the Democratic corporation*Promote by law ranked-choice voting, so we won’t be told again, by D&R duopoly, to “hold your nose and vote”
If these issues are handled, our next elections can be honorable. 
*******************************************************************https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx—-Political Party affiliation of voters.