Americans = Robots...?

       Alexis de Toqueville writes of the democracy and social injustices of America in Democracy in America. Although America was founded on Enlightenment ideas, especially freedom, the people, who "are almost all equal," act in ways contrary to that of the Enlightenment. He presents the issues of sexism and racism found in America as evidence. He also argues that America has turned away from ideas of the Enlightenment by using the opinions of others. This is evident in their literature through the short, bold works that authors produce compared to that of European authors who are more detailed and skilled in their writing. The skill of literature portrays the chaos that America will face when the injustices of America transcend the ability of the democracy to control it. The future success of America is blurred because "war is the surest and shortest means" to destroy a democracy. His writing explains that because America turned from the Enlightenment ideas it was founded on, the country's future success and life are at risk of being nonexistent.

       This reading surprised me greatly because, according to Thomas Paine, America is the symbol of freedom to the world. Kant saw the country as a birth of the Enlightenment movement, hoping that the foundation of the country would contain solid, reasonable truths from the Enlightenment. Yet Toqueville presents many ways, especially in Volume II, in which Americans acted in ways exactly contrary to Enlightenment ideas. While racial and sexual inequalities exist, American men also reinforced Enlightenment injustices by using others opinions. Kant warns against this self-incurred tutelage, but Toqueville writes, "the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own." Therefore, althought the country was founded including Enlightenment ideas, the people continued in a mindset of using others' opinions.

Based off of what Toqueville writes about war pertaining to democratic countries, should democratic countries be more wary of entering or taking a political stance on a war than another situated government, like a monarchial government?