The banner in this image is digitally manipulated. This is what it would have looked like had deployment been successful. In the actual image , about a quarter of the banner was still coiled when police cut it down. Democracy in the United States is in jeopardy.
Legalized bribery is a fact of life, as is the refusal of a majority of citizens to vote.
Ours is a crippled democracy, each day appearing more as an oligarchy than a republic. Certainly most US citizens enjoy freedom of conscience and feel that they can express their political beliefs without fear of government persecution. But under the current campaign finance system the voices of a tiny few drown out the voices of the majority. The right of free political expression has been rendered meaningless by the massive amount of money flooding the electoral system. The purchase of democracy is a theft of freedom.