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Comment by thomasfoster96 | Hacker News Reader

> Is a country democratic if it has local elections and at the same time segreggate their own and drone other nations - while removing democratically elected presidents ?

I assume you're referring to America. And my answer would be that yes, as abhorrent as segregation, drone strikes and backing coups in other countries is, that doesn't nullify the elections held within that country. It's still a democracy.

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So You're agreeing with me that this is bullshit and US is not a democracy? After all, Obama was elected to halt Wars and we are on the brink of WWIII. You vote but don't get what you elect. Now, if we add big money to the sum, I would say the American polítical regime is the worst in the world.

No, actually I said that the US is still a democracy.

People voted for Obama and they got Obama. Obama may have said what he wanted to do in office back in 2008 and then not been able to achieve those things, but that doesn't make the US undemocratic. That's how representative democracy works - you vote for representatives, not policies.

Well Filipinos voted for this President who was very clear on his policues and they got him and he is doing what he promised. Democracy right though perhaps not to everyone's taste. What is then the objection?

Well, I object to the policy itself in the first place. Extrajudicial executions, regardless of whether or not a popularly elected president encourages (or even orders) them, are fundamentally contrary to the rule of law and basic human rights.

Edit: Additionally, extrajudicial executions are a sign that Duterte doesn't respect the law. If he continues to encourage vigilante killings, there is precedent for him to encourage law breaking in other areas. Who's not to say there won't be electoral laws being flouted?

Do you think the American political regime is worse than Venezuela's? Vietnam? Thailand? Brazil? Libya? I think the majority of people would argue the list of superior systems is 90% shorter than the list of inferior.

Yep. After all, the political problems of the ones you cited all goes back to the American regime.

> I would say the American polítical regime is the worst in the world

But not for the people living there.

People supporting Trump (right wing), people supporting Bernie Sanders (left wing) and BLM (both) don't agree with this. But yeah, you have a great piece of America's population that got a lot from this world-wide regime.

If you're calling the political system in the United States a 'regime', then both Sanders (as a legislator) and Trump (as a member of both parties and donor) are both a part of it. Both Sanders and Trump support the American political system as much as Clinton.

Both are part of the regime, but people that support them do it because they don't feel included in the political system.

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