Originally Posted by Almighty Colin

The thread title is "USA's Grip On Democracy Going Down The Drain". Now that takes the point of view that the US is becoming less democratic in its institutions. My example is just one of many that I could use to show that idealized democracy has never existed here. There's not a decrease in democratic institutions. There's the same ebb and flow, the same debate between security and liberty that there always has been. The debate began even before the writing of the constitution between the federalists and the anti-federalists. Once the country was founded the debates continued in the legislative and judicial branches and have to this day. Take the Alien and Sedition Act that I mentioned as an example. This act was passed by those who put security ahead of liberty during a time when it was perceived that security was more important. This is similar in our time to the Patriot Act.
There are many more examples from American History.