Authoritarianism

Rudy Giuliani has said, “Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.” This is a statement that could very well have come from Vladimir Putin; it’s the very definition of authoritarianism, not freedom.
Is the United States still even a functioning democracy? Polls show a large majority of Americans favor universal healthcare, getting out of Iraq and action on global climate change yet there is no action by either party in these matters. Likewise polls show most Americans oppose warrantless spying on Americans, torture, endless war, suspension of rights and the coming internal passports yet many Democrats vote with the Republicans to support these measures. A question worth asking: If we had a functioning democracy, wouldn’t “our” government carry out the will of the people instead of the will of the corporatists?
The United States continues its slide toward authoritarianism.  We are supposed to believe that freedom is about giving up freedom; we have always been at war with Eurasia; you are getting sleepy, your eyelids are getting very heavy. George Orwell was a visionary indeed.