There’s No Beauty in the Beast of America’s Democracy

We live in a country where the president admitted to sexually assaulting women. We live in a country where people who are accused of sexual assault can still get elected —and re-elected — to office, despite their transgressions. A country where people who are accused of rape and assault by multiple women are still allowed to coach Little League baseball teams or appear on TV shows as talk show guests.

In addition to these ugly truths about our society and government, there is also an emotional and psychological toll on women when they’re constantly under attack by men in positions of power or influence; it’s not just the women who are fed up as well — rich and poor, privileged and marginalized — everyone is fed up here in America. The college admissions scandal revealed what we already knew: some people will get away with whatever they want even if it means getting into college illegally.

American women fought to have the right to choose what happens to their bodies, to be treated equal to their counter sex and all of that was ripped from underneath them. America is starting to look less and less like the home of the brave or the free. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court turned over Roe v. Wade stripping women of their right to medical privacy and the right to abort an unwelcome pregnancy.

If a man decides to take what he wants from a female, planting his seed, a woman is forced to keep that seed to full term. A child who has just started her menstrual cycle and was raped by a family member, friend of the family, or a member of the community; is forced to carry to term a fetus. In both cases the female is forced to relive the trauma, causing it to bury deeper inside her psyche. A woman who is told that the pregnancy is going to kill her now does not have the right to live. An embryo that has attached itself to a fallopian tube has more rights than the body it is inside.

The U.S. is nothing short of a mess. It has been this way for many years, and the current political climate is merely the most visible symptom of our larger problems.

America is in a crisis, which it has been for decades. The economy is still struggling; people are working harder and earning less than they were 10 years ago — but now there are more people in the workforce too! We’re spending more on healthcare than ever before, but our health outcomes don’t seem to be improving at all — in fact, they may even be getting worse. Education costs continue to rise while student loan debt continues to grow by leaps and bounds every year. And that’s just skimming over some of the bigger issues here.

So what happened? How did America get here?

There is an emotional and psychological toll on women when they’re constantly under attack by men in positions of power or influence.

Women have been dealing with the psychological trauma of being attacked since the beginning of time, but that hasn’t stopped them from fighting back against their aggressors — and it shouldn’t stop you from doing the same.

It’s not just the women who are fed up, everyone — rich and poor, privileged and marginalized — is fed up here in America. Everyone from all walks of life: Black, white, brown, and yellow; Christian, Jewish, and Muslim; straight or gay; disabled or able-bodied. No one is happy with what’s going on in America right now.

This year, the college admissions scandal revealed what we already knew — some people will get away with whatever they want, even if it means getting into college the illegal way. So far, several people have been arrested for their involvement in this scandal. Among them are actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman as well as businesswoman Michelle Pfeiffer. The latter two were charged with paying bribes totaling $500,000 to get their daughters into USC and UCLA respectively.

The entire thing stunk of privilege from the beginning, but now that it’s been exposed publicly how widespread this practice is — and always has — Americans are left asking: Why? What is so special about these families is that they’re willing to break laws just so their kids can go to school.

It turns out nothing at all; these parents just don’t want anything standing between them and success — not even the law itself. And while my fellow citizens may not be willing to admit it, I believe we’ve all known this all along.

America is not a democracy. It is a plutocracy, one where the rich are in charge of everything and everyone else gets whatever crumbs they can get.

Opinion by Sheena Robertson

Sources:

Daily Mail: EXCLUSIVE: Smiling Elizabeth Holmes makes the most of her freedom: Convicted fraudster takes a stroll with husband and baby son William around leafy $135M California estate – three days after being found guilty in Theranos trial
The Conversation: 1 in 4 government officials accused of sexual misconduct in the #MeToo era is still in office today
NPR: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades
Insider: The 26 women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct
ABC News: List of Trump’s accusers and their allegations of sexual misconduct
Insider: The full list of everyone who’s been sentenced in the college admissions scandal so far

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