I peeked at some definitions of democracy just to see if I could get a basic understanding of what it meant. I’ve grown up thinking that we live in a democracy mainly because we get to vote for our president (and other folks as well). I think that’s a good thing, I like the idea of a government put in place by the people it governs.

Yet, recently I’ve been thinking about the fact that our tendency to think of our country as a democracy governed within some arbitrary boundaries that make up 50 different states is maybe not the most accurate. My thought is that it might be more accurate to think of the boundaries of our government and system as outlined not by the areas that our politicians govern, but were our military exerts it’s power. You see, ultimately I’m not ruled by the politicians (they make laws), I’m kept in line by the powers that enforce those rules, namely the military (and on our local level the police). So, it would seem that if we are going to be a true democracy we would allow citizenship and voting privileges for every person under or within our military presence. Otherwise, maybe it would be more accurate to say that we are part of the ruling class (all be it a large one) of an even larger empire that exerts it’s military rule over much of the rest of the world.

US Military Presence in The World

Chose Your Weapon (The Global Arms Trade)

One more map of US military bases.