Democracy Gone

A Chronicle of the Last Chapters of the Great American Democratic Experiment

Robert P. Abele

• Publisher: Hamilton Books
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN: 9780761846765
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Political History & Theory
• Index: Politics & International Relations

In Democracy Gone, Abele argues that the last eight years in particular have shown us that our democracy has largely disintegrated, leaving behind only an exoskeleton that was once its original vertebrae of ends and principles. This book questions whether or not the American democratic experiment has run out of steam and if, through our inattention, we have replaced our democracy with politicians lustful for power and central authority that is out of touch with the needs of common people. The essays included in Democracy Gone focus specifically on two questions. First, how true are we staying to our founding values in our national actions and dialogues? Second, how consistent and universal is our application of the principles and standards we claim to hold dear? The underlying call is that it is critical to our form of democracy in the United States that citizens once again become active participants in the issues of the day: nothing less than the reclamation of our democracy is at stake.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• The Roberts Court
• Christian America? (Part I)
• Christian America? (Part II)
• Christian America? (Part III)
• History Repeated: The Resurrection of the Intelligent Design Argument (Part I)
• History Repeated: The Resurrection of the Intelligent Design Argument (Part II)
• Samuel Alito: The Judge Inside the Black Robe
• Assault on the Academy
• A Defense of Liberal Values
• Primary American Values: Liberty and the Common Good (Part I)
• Primary American Values: Liberty and the Common Good (Part II)
• Primary American Values: Liberty and the Common Good (Part III)
• The Values of the Religious Right are Neither Religious nor Right (Part I)
• The Values of the Religious Right are Neither Religious nor Right (Part II)
• Bush and the Abuse of Science (Part I)
• Bush and the Abuse of Science (Part II)
• What is a Jihad, Anyway?
• Democracy and Global Economic Imperialism
• Is American Culture Dying?
• Keeping the Enlightenment Alive
• New Orleans Teachers
• The Extremist Attack on College Education
• The Coming War with Iran (Part I)
• The Coming War with Iran (Part II)
• The Coming War with Iran (Part III)
• The Coming War with Iran (Part 4)
• The Ethical and Logical Need for Consistency
• Was the 2004 Election Stolen? (Part I)
• Was the 2004 Election Stolen? (Part II)
• Are Diebold Machines Reliable?
• Media Conglomeration is a Bad Idea for Democracy
• Religious Right Warriors
• Neocon Philosophy and its Near Demise
• Vision for a Democratic and Ethical Future
• A Presidential Signing Statements
• Privatization of Government
• Do We Have a Right to Privacy?
• The Common Good and Democracy
• Torture (Part I)
• Torture (Part II)
• Freedom of Conscience as the Basis of Freedom of Religion
• The Don Imus Affair
• Militarism and Democracy
• Money and Democracy
• The Lame Democratic Congress
• Why We Can’t Support the Troops without Supporting the War
• Healing Our Wounds
• The Meaning of the Fourth of July
• Why We Need International Law
• The Art of Reasoning in Democracy
• How the United States in Conducting the War in Iraq
• What Do We Do About Iraq?
• Why Do They Hate Us?
• How Do We Define “Terrorism?”
• The Old Hippie and the Republic
• Chomsky, Jello, and 9/11 (Part I)
• Chomsky, Jello, and 9/11 (Part II)
• 9/11: Some Political Questions (Part I)
• 9/11: Some Political Questions (Part II)
• Groupthink versus Critical Thinking
• “Legislating from the Bench”
• Mukasey, Torture, and the Democratic Congress
• A Method for Constitutional Interpretation
• The Need to Open the Debate
• Domestic Dissent as Terrorism
• What Does the Right to Free Speech Mean?
• History Revisited
• Democratic Principles and Congressional Legislation
• “Barackstar” the Actor
• The New Push for Christian Nation Status
• Wars and More Wars
• “Show Me Your Papers!”
• America for Sale
• Corporate Personhood
• What should be the President’s Emergency Powers?
• What True Patriots Fight and Die For
• The Democrats’ War Investments
• The Radicalism of Originalism
• Blackwater and the U.S. Constitution
• Is Terrorism Ever Morally Justifiable?
• Reviving Democracy after November
• Socrates and Callicles
• The Loss of True Liberalism
• The Problem with Liberals “Framing”
• The Seventh Anniversary of 9/11
• Sarah Palin and the Age of Reason
• The Beginning of the Crash
• Are We Ready for the Revolution? (Part I)
• Are We Ready for the Revolution? (Part II)
• The March toward Authoritarianism in America (Part I)
• The March toward Authoritarianism in America (Part II)
• A Charge to President-Elect Obama
• Progressives, Beware of Premature Euphoria
• Gay Civil Rights
• Obama’s Actions Show the Need for Real Change
• Chomsky’s Radical Critique of Government
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author