Is Jamaica a better democracy? I responded to this guy's post on FB. I said Ja is not even a democracy at all.
He made a few basic points to defend his point, and said he was interested in a debate.. I responded with this more detailed text ...after which he immediately tucked tail and ran. I'm reposting here to not have it be such a wasted effort of writing lol:
"Horatio W***, well at you at least about seem to be an actual debater of merits. So let us begin. I apologize beforehand for what will be a long...if not illuminating read.
Yes I know what a democracy is. It is simply people ruling themselves. Now, the finer points of republicanism as a sub form of democratism aside (the kind of democracy the US has, and it is a moderated kind), their govt at least swears its allegiance and duty to the people. Jamaica's officials do no such thing. They instead swear the allegiance and duty to what most of us consider a foreign entity...the King of The United Kingdom. This isn't symbolic, as some like to lead us to believe....it is real in all respects.
That person is the scion, the heir of the powers that shackled our ancestors (and our kin who remained in the motherland) and profited themselves immensely off of them.
Can a governance structure, so formed from such a seed, even begin to start claiming the notion of democracy? The local officials proudly bask in the glory the king profers on them...calling themselves and forcing others to call them Most Honorable, Sir, Excellency.....Worship. these subjective personal honorifics (as opposed to objective impersonal ones like Dr. or Professor, and are the same boat as Majesty and Highness) serve to signal thier closer proximity to blue bloodedness. They are not public servants... but rulers. This is not a hallmark of democracy. For democracy to work...all people have to be considered as equal at the outset and at all times.
Now onto the differences between how our systems ( US and Ja) are implemented in practice. Democracy is said to have 4 pillars. The first and most basic is voting. The average US citizen votes multiple times PER year.. They vote at 4 different levels: municipal, county, statewide and federal. All these levels combined give each citizen dozens of separate votes. They vote for several officials at each level. At all levels below federal they vote directly for not only the executive and law making bodies but also officials who administer law enforcement, legal adjudication (judges and prosecutors), education and sometimes re healthcare and other sectors. Citizens in many states also vote to introduce laws directly, and pass laws directly, bypassing representatives. They can also vote to recall officials. At the federal level each US citizen has 4 votes...three lawmakers, and one executive. They vote for the lawmakers every two years, and the executive every 4 years. Now compare all of this...dozens and dozens of pathways, abd voter choice, held at short intervals, that allow US citizens a very significant measure of control over the direction of thier lives, ....to Jamaica. We have....count em... a total of 2 votes..MP and Councilor. Each every 5 longgg years. Here it is strictly representational. No further input required of the citizenry. No feedback mechanisms aside from waiting a whole 5 years to rinse wash and repeat. The population is thus at the complete whim and fancy of the official, and even more so to the top executive that is very indirectly placed into power. In addition there is very little check on that power. (How those who run for the 2 biggest parties get nominated as such is another issue). Just look at one current isdue...beach access. 99% of our population could agree that something needs to be done to fix that national shame, but our system allows these politicians to just outright ignore that concensus.
The next pillar is legal redress. I'll be brief on this one. The US govt, at all levels is under constant, constant legal action. Thousands upon thousands of cases of legal actions bought by citizens every year, at every level. And each and every single one of those cases has to be fully adjucated, and remedied if so determined. The govt has to quickly stop errant executive actions, correct bad laws and pay out 10s of billions of dollars in damages every year. This process in Ja is EXTREMELY muted. Even adjusted to scale of the population...there is no comparison. Most of the redress citizens would claim, are systemically impossible to be bought. The govt lays out very specific instances of when it can be actioned, and limits the consequence to itself of those actions (and it is also the case that our lawyer class has been bought by the govt).
The next and 3rd pillar is the media. You say we have freedom to express ourselves....but we actually don't. The current ongoings with the Trump administration notwithstanding, whereby he has somewhat succeeded in having a chilling effect on the media (due to corrupt forces... another topic) , it is normally the case that US media has a truly near complete and total freedom to investigate and publish what MIGHT be facts and the public is free to discuss and debate in any way, which is the only way hidden things get bought to light. In Ja media personel are sued into oblivion for making even the lightest of claims. The onus of proof is squarely on the media. Its why we never had a #Metoo, even tho I bet you money Jamaica has a far worse situation with such things.
The 4th pillar...is that of civic participation. At all level of US govt, citizens can address officials in formal capacity. They question, accuse, debate and just complain to mayors and thier city reps at the required local town meetings, to governors and state officials at state townhalls, and they can testify to senators and members of congress in congressional hearings. During election periods these national figures, including the people running for president...have to interact deeply and meaningfully with constituents. These formal inclusions are non existent in Ja. Thats the formal aspect. Citizens can also run for many official positions. Any person off the road can run for president and have an actual chance if they are that much of a genius...extremely unlikely that, but there are also a plethora of much easier positions to start a more provenly meritocratic political climb. Neither option exists in Ja.
The non formal aspect, is where it can get tricky. The 4th pillar allows for regular protest....AND irregular protest. The former is regular protests and strike actions as explicitly permitted by the state. Then there are protests (civil disobedience... which includes rioting) that is heavily tolerated by the state. And thennn.... there is rebellion...a feature of democracy... when all else fails to hold it as such. This civic action is the most difficult call...but it is one that the US system enshrines...the right to bear arms. That is the reason that right exists. There is no such aspect that exists in Jamaica. The govt "glorifies" in a fake way people like Sam Sharpe or Paul Bogle (there's a psychological reason why they do it...but that again is another topic) , but make no mistake, Jamaica's govt affords no such mentality even in the defense of the right of the people against forces that would take away our freedom....as none of our rights are absolute...but they are in the US constitution.
And thats just the US system, not nearly the most democratic in the world. However, it is the oldest in the modern era, and perhaps the most thoroughly thought out beforehand, and should be respected as such. But like I mentioned, thier system is under extraordinary pressure by the biggest questions humanity has for itself.
And even so, as Ive laid it out, Jamaica doesnt have any of these pillars. It has stumps. Or mounds. And they aren't supporting anything but wishful thinking."