The truest democracy

I believe that America is not a true democracy. That when held to the highest standards, like shown on the map in class, America does not belong with the counrties that have truly democratic elections and hold the rights and liberties of their citizens above all else.
I am not trying to say that America is not a demorcacy at all, or that our elections are terrible, or that the citizens are treated very badly. I am just saying that America cannot be considered a true democracy when held to the highest standards.
The popular vote does not necessarily elect our president, as the various examples in class including the 2000 election show. We currently have a president that less than half of the US wants.
And we do not always protect the rights and liberties of our citizens above all else. A current example of this is the gay community. We descriminate on the basis of sexual orientation when it comes to the right to marry, and often adopt children. A more extreme example was in WWII when we put many of our citizens of Japanese descent in concentration camps.
Looking at these examples, I won't say that America is necessarily a bad place to live, but we are not always the democracy we claim to be.