Jackson Jambalaya

Many kinds of governments exercise authority over nations, states, provinces, and territories around the world. Which form works best? The founders of the United States of America whittled down a few words that have become the foundation of our beliefs and values: “All men are created equal.”

Thomas Jefferson crafted those words into an immutable truth that has held our nation together through many challenges both foreign and domestic: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These are the words rebels used against the English throne to justify our declaration of and revolution for independence from that monarchical form of government. 

Although these words are true and have kept us united for more than 250 years, many among us have challenged them in efforts to change our form of government. A group calling themselves Democratic Socialists of America have created more heat than light in their attempt to overthrow many of our institutions in the name of “democracy.” 

Citizens of the USA should know we are not a democracy. We are a republic as noted by none other than Benjamin Franklin when he answered Elizabeth Willing Powel’s question, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy? Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.” All these years later political leaders still argue about whether we are a democracy or a republic.

Monarchies were the rule rather than the exception to the form of government used across Europe and most of the rest of the world in those days. Indeed, after George Washington’s terms as president, many of the citizens wanted to make him king. Washington rejected the idea as a threat to the republic. Hadn’t they just fought and won a war against a monarchy?

Cue the “Democratic Socialists of America” who have gained the political spotlight in this year’s annual elections. As the winner of the New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani took office January 1, 2026. He is the city’s 112^th mayor and the first Muslim and Asian American to hold this position. 

What does this mean? Who are the Democratic Socialists of America? The DSA Political Platform website’s Preamble as of September 2025 explains in part.

“The Democratic Socialists of America are fighting to win a world organized and governed by and for the vast majority, the working class. We are socialist because we share a vision of a humane social order based on popular control of resources and production, economic planning, equitable distribution, feminism, racial equality and non-oppressive relationships. We are democratic because we know that this transformation cannot be won from the top down, by a small group of elites who claim to have all the answers, or by even well-meaning politicians. This transformation can only come from the bottom up, when millions of working-class people stand together.” 

That’s a lot to digest. The Democrat Party doesn’t appear to welcome this group into the national party but also doesn’t challenge DSA’s platform. DSA wants to eliminate the Senate and replace the president with an executive chosen by what’s now the House. Can our constitutional government withstand a challenge from the Democratic Socialists of America? 

Daniel L. Gardner is a columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.