America has never truly been a democracy, it has always been an oligarchy behind the mask of “representative democracy.” A group of rich, white men declared their independence from a rich white man. The rich white men founded a ruling class (government) that established liberty for their ability to remain rich and their only concern for others was to the extent that they supported their cause. Ironically, because America was the first to form something that looked like self-government over time other countries used the U.S. Constitution as the blueprint for founding their own democracies. However, it appears that none of those countries established their constitutions for the purpose of securing an oligarchy, and so over time they made reforms to be more democratic. The United States has not made such reforms to dismantle the oligarchy and so life in the U.S. goes on as intended for the benefit of a minority of wealthy people. Problem is, demographics and generations change and so there are ways for reform to occur within our current form of government, which is why I think conservatives are fighting so hard because they feel if they don’t take action their control will cease.