American democracy is a failure.

As Abraham Lincoln explains in the Gettysburg Address, democracy is intended to be a "government of the people, by the people, for the people," however, in 2015 we find that modern democracy no longer achieves those goals and has failed the people it was intended to save. American democracy has devolved to such a point that it is no longer for the people nor by the people and fails at its entire purpose. Throughout the course of this debate, as the affirmative I will be tasked with the burden of proof and must thoroughly prove that American democracy failed at it's goal to be the government form of the people, by the people, for the people and that America is no longer the land of the free. I welcome anything that you want to bring into this debate, no matter how crazy it is as this debate is already fairly crazy. For this debate, the most important thing that we consider, in my opinion, (in NSDA Lincoln-Douglas Debate terms, my value for the round) is the value of Duty. In other words, has the government succeeded in its duty to it's constituents. The best weighing mechanism for this value is that of protection of individual freedoms, has the United States protected its constituents individual liberties and welfare? American Democracy has failed for 3 primary reasons: first, American politics is not concerned with the welfare of the average American, but rather is consumed with partisan bickering and individual power struggles; second, the USA has failed its constituents numerous times by limiting the individuals freedoms, committing perverse human rights violations, and worsening the state of the individual and society; and lastly because democracy is an inherently flawed form of government that allows for immense inefficiency and corruption. First, American democracy is apathetic to the struggle of the average american. This has been proven time and time again as congress has shut down the government putting many in peril simply due to political bickering. However, the real clinch hitter is the fact that despite continual cries for help from millions of voters, politicians turn a cold shoulder. This is best seen in the Ferguson and Baltimore riots as no long term corrective measures were put in place for police brutality or for the struggling minority populations. Second, American democracy has been and is responsible for perverse human rights violations. Slavery, Jim Crow, Anti-Women's Rights laws, Anti-Gay Marriage laws, and discriminatory policies throughout the United States which continue into modern day all provide prime examples of when democracy has failed. The symptoms of these atrocities which still reveal themselves in modern times, such as white privilege, racism, sexism, and numerous other freedom inhibiting laws all prove that democracy has not succeeded in helping its constituents and has actually worsened their condition as proven by the fact that nations running on other government models such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden all have higher living standards and greater freedoms, plus happiness. Last, democracy is inherently flawed because it allows for slow decision making as partisan lines create tensions. This slow decision making harms constituents, in addition to this it makes decisions ineffective often times. Democracy is insensitive and fails to help it's own people. Other government models such as a parliamentary monarchy or socialist state succeed at these ends where democracy has failed.