Our capital colony

 Sam Smith - With all the attention  being given to Donald Trump’s invasion of Washington DC, this native Washingtonian has been struck by something that is hardly mentioned in the media, namely for about two and a half centuries, the capital of the world’s greatest democracy has lacked full participation in even average democracy – such as having representation in Congress or constitutional protection against presidential intrusion.

DC remains a colony of America and few citizens of the real states hardly notice it. As the city’s own statehood page puts it:

·       DC residents fulfill all the obligations of US citizenship and yet are denied representation.

·       DC taxpayers pay federal taxes – more per capita than any state and more total federal taxes than 12 states and pay more in total federal income tax than 19 other states.

·       DC has about 700,000 residents, more than Vermont and Wyoming and comparable with other states including Delaware, Alaska, and several others.

·       DC residents have contributed to this nation just like residents of all other states. More than 8,000 DC residents currently serving in the military can be sent to war to fight for American values, but do not have full voting rights in their own place of residence.

·       Since World War I, DC has sent nearly 200,000 brave men and women to defend and fight for democracy abroad, and tragically 2,000 of those patriots never made it home.

·       DC elects a non-voting Delegate to the US House of Representatives who can draft legislation but cannot vote. …

·       While DC is fiscally independent and has a $21 billion local budget, it is still subject to the Congressional appropriations process and riders that allow any member of Congress to impose their will on DC residents.

·       Statehood is the only remedy that provides full representation in Congress for the residents of Washington, DC.

I’m aware of this because some 45 years ago I wrote a piece arguing for DC statehood – or equality with the rest of America – and we are still so far away. It would help if the media would stop treating DC equality as so much less than a basic goal and face up to the fact that DC residents deserve to be full American citizens.

Further, DC’s colonial status appeals to Trump because his war on democracy is in no small part a war on the local – those places in America where people are still hanging on to the long declared values of our country. I am currently living in a small Maine town and am repeatedly struck by how much closer to our historic values this place is compared to our national standards, particularly as described by our national media.

Our democracy is badly damaged at a national level and our hope lies in the local. Which is a major reason Trump wants to kill our cities as well as our nation. It’s not just the long time colony of DC that’s his target.  He wants to control Chicago and much more.