Is the United States still a democracy

In the past, I had been taught, and believed, that the United States is a democracy where people are free to make their own choices. In fact, the United States is supposed to be the leading example of democracy in the world.

Yet recent events over the past few years call serious doubts to this claim.

In a country where more than 90% of the people want greater gun control, nothing is being done to exercise the will of the people into actual laws.

In a country where people want equality for the races, nothing substantial is being done to address the disadvantages faced by non-white people. Yes, we see legislation being enacted to remove names of people from the Confederacy, we see the removal of Confederate statues. But these are the low-lying fruits that serve as optics. It makes it look like elected officials are doing something to address the issue. But removing symbols doesn't solve the problem of discrimination faced by black people. It doesn't address the disadvantages they have to face in daily life today because of more than a century of laws which intentionally put them and their ancestors at a disadvantage.

In a country where people believe in the right of every person to live, nothing is being done to protect people from COVID-19. Instead, politicians use party politics to divide the people to ensure those same politicians remain in power... the only issue is that their power comes at the expense of actual lives.

In a country where every person should be equal, due to the way political donations are handled, owners of corporations actually have a more significant voice than the average person.

A democracy is supposed to be versatile and adaptable, because it is supposed to be able to most readily reflect the will of its people, and we believe that the collective will of the people brings good to society. Yet the United States today has failed to address challenges facing its society because it has not been able to properly reflect the will of its people. Can we thus say that the United States today is still a democracy?