Finton O’Toole is a tool. A left wing propagandist.
Beware Prophecies of Civil War
First: America is NOT a “democracy”; it is instead a constitutional republic. People like O’Toole – who whine about how the U.S. is not acting as a pure democracy, as if that were a bad thing – are wearing thin.
Pure democracies are flawed. In a purely democratic society, without a Constitution that remains beyond the whim of a simple majority, we’d all be subject to limitations on our rights based upon the demands of whomever was in power. Our “rights” would not really exist; any so-called “rights” would be granted by the government on an as-useful basis, subject to the current wave of rhetoric sweeping the voters. Is this what O’Toole would prefer? I imagine so… so long as his cronies were in power to protect *his* rights.
Our government is also unique in that it represents not only the rights of the people, but also the rights of the states: representation of the people via the House, and the states via the Senate. O’Toole’s implication that the Senate is undemocratic is true – when viewed from the perspective of the people – but irrelevant. The Senate represents the STATES, not the people, and when viewed from that perspective it is democratic (equal representation of the states).
In any event, O’Toole’s argument for “reforming” the Senate (so that it represents the population rather than the states, effectively turning it into just another House) is ludicrous. Why not just go full-on “democratic” and eliminate the Senate all together? Then a small majority could subvert the rights of the minority at will via the House. How would that be any different than delegating Senate seats as O’Toole describes (one per state minimum, the balance by population – just as is done in the House).
Unfortunately, the Senate will likely one day go the way of the dodo bird, moving us closer to the chaos of a “pure” democracy (or democratic republic, as would be the case). It all started with the 17th Amendment, which changed senate seats from being assigned by a vote of state legislators to being directly elected by voters; it may well end with the elimination of the Senate. It’s inevitable – all societies eventually fall, and ours will be no different. I just hope it happens long after I am gone.
BTW: This guy is an Irish drama critic – what does he know (or care) about the U.S. Constitution and its function(s)? Maybe he should be spending his time lambasting his own government instead…