America is a paper democracy, meaning it’s a democracy in name only. It’s been that way from the founding of the country and has stayed the course throughout our history as a nation. We’ve flirted with real democracy for short periods of time like during Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Era. Each time we’ve come close, the country reverses progress and returns to being paper.

For those who are unaware, the terms “real” and “paper” as well as the intended meaning in this post are borrowed from the Divine Nine culture, or the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). When a member is considered as real, they have gone through the pledging rituals, put in the time/effort, and did the requisite work to earn their membership in their respective Greek Letter organization. Paper members are more likely to have paid their fees, learned their history, and received their letters without the grueling…