This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman's editor must have told him to write something positive for July 4th, or else! ("America: The same and very different," Opinion, July 6.) After saying we still uphold the old 1776 ideals of democracy and equality, he lists the ways we do not.
I love Krugman for his grumpy realism, but this article seems schizophrenic. He says "we are the most class-ridden nation in the Western world, and we work hard to disenfranchise the poor and nonwhite."
Then he really gets creative and says that because the rich and powerful have to lie to us about the inequalities they are actively promoting, and because we all know deep down that they are lying, therefore we still have the same old democratic ideals?
And what is this "continuity of legal government"? We have a court that turns corporations into people and money into votes, and representatives who block every bill put forth by the opposition, compromise and constituents be damned.
And how about "America remains deeply democratic in its mannerisms, in the way people from different classes interact"?
The Koch Brothers haven't invited me over for environmentally friendly hot dogs yet.
Beverly Terry
Salt Lake City