I would like to suggest a minor alteration to “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Instead of the line O’er the land of the free and home of the brave, I would like to suggest something that more accurately depicts our current version of Democracy. “O’er the land of the moderately safe and home of the intensely paranoid” might not have same ring to it, but I think the realistic interpretation might catch on, especially with hip teenagers.

For this to be the land of the free, there sure are a lot of people behind bars. The Census Bureau estimated in 2006 that roughly 2.1 million people were in prison. That translates to about one out of every 133 Americans currently serving time. If you don’t think that’s a little crazy, just consider that in China there are roughly 1.5 million people in prison, and their population quadruples ours.

Either their police force is completely incompetent or our system is flawed. The way our government looks at its own people probably explains a lot. From state to federal, our government views society as an object to be managed. To them, bringing life and liberty to America means bringing peace of mind to the picturesque American family. This family is a family who doesn’t get out of line, won’t protest and doesn’t have relatives and children who get arrested.

The people who go out and protest, the people who live their lives the way they wish, and the people who make mistakes are citizens who must be managed. They are the ones who we have to tase, keep behind barriers and enforce three strike penalties against. It appears that these politicians can’t get their heads around the fact that these people are also America.

Democracy is not supposed to be perfect and glossy. There are supposed to be ridges and imperfections. In a Democracy people are not supposed be restricted and made pointless by barriers when they go out and practice their American right to protest. People shouldn’t be tased, even if they are attempting to ask an awkward question or shout down a politician.

Drug arrests account for the overwhelming majority of prisoners in this country. It’s supposed to be a government by the people and for the people, not just for the unquestioning sober people. Since 1980, the war on drugs has caused the drug incarceration rate to go up by over 1,000 percent. A Federal Government household survey on drug abuse shows that more than 12 million people have used illegal drugs, and that’s an estimate based on the number of people who admitted to using just within that survey.

Is that Democracy? Is it Democratic to arrest millions of people based on a personal choice? The near bizarre effort to maintain the American “status quo” is redefining Democracy. It’s now less about freedom than some abstract notion of fear and safety. Ironically, the end result is more fear. Call me a cynic, but when I see a police officer my first thought is never “Thank God, it’s the police.”