Democracy In The United States

From the early 1840s to the present day, a democracy can be described as a flawed establishment which has been shaped by the power of wealth and control, complex social relations, and most importantly the people’s desire to live a fulfilling life. Throughout this time period the principles of democracy, such as equality, protection of the people’s interest, and promotion of human rights were shifting in order to increase the democracy efficiency. Therefore the continued importance of the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and Constitution remain significant since, in American today, democracy is a system that is continuously being shaped by the people within it.

What is democracy? Democracy is a form of government that vest the power onto the people (Barbour & Wright, 2016). When a state actor’s form of government is democracy, the citizens vote for their leaders and on laws to be passed. Democracy is part of the non-authoritarian system which means the individual citizens decide how to live their lives and the government’s role is very limited (Barbour & Wright, 2016). There are many state actors that run their countries in a democracy way including, United States, Sweden, Japan, and India. Although the United States Democracy is not exactly a true democracy.

One of the more complex and broad, in scope, pieces of our studies this semester has been the research of Gerrymandering. While the essence and defining traits of Gerrymandering are simple in nature, the complexities of the effects on American democracy and the everyday lives of the citizens the nation holds are of the most intricate I have personally come across. The astonishing aspect is not in the act of gerrymandering, no, if that was the case it would be illegal or constantly trying to be debunked by the majority of the populace. The astonishing facet of this systematic disruptor is the lack of knowledge and care by the common citizen. The mere acceptance of what they think is normal is quite bewildering and gives more reason to me why our state of the union is limping at the knees like it is. I cherish the ways of a republican ran nation, I love the adrenaline of capitalism alongside economic and social mobility. Yet at my most humane self, I am a liberal at heart who cherishes the ideals of direct democracy like that of the Athenians in Greece BCE. Growing up and having a somewhat tangible aspect of voting and outcomes, I had honestly thought that we lived in a direct democracy where everyone votes and is equal, where nothing was skewed. As I have reached past years of a pubescent psyche and study into the realities of American democracy the truth is ever so troubling, not because of the actions but because of hopeful ideas that everything is not skewed and

The United States Government is defined in many different ways. The most common that we hear are the forms of democracy and republic. Although very similar, these are very loose terms when it comes to categorizing our government. The respect for human rights and involvement of the nation’s people have been a main priority in the running of the government since the beginning. Unfortunately, over time, we are seeing our freedoms and individual participation in the governments decisions slowly declining in many aspects. This makes us question the government and our ultimates rights as citizens that we currently have. The support we have for democracy is our support towards religious freedom, worker rights, and also helps create a more stable and affluent system that manages our nation’s control and gives us the ability to have a bigger voices around the world.

How democratic is the US? This is a question not many people ask themselves, most people living in the United States believe that they have a very democratic country since it is what they hear everyone says about it. Nonetheless, to those who have learned about United States of America the reality can be different, some might say there is nothing democratic at all about America. The questions to ask are “what is democracy? How democratic is the US? Do we meet the standards of democratic theory?

There are many ways states are governed and many different systems of governments. The United States of America uses a democratic system of government; a system where the common person holds power through the ability to vote and participate in politics. Although this holds true for a majority of the operations carried out within the state, some may say the United States has shares particular characteristics of a dictatorship; a system of government where politics are controlled by a small subset of individuals, rather than the power being held by the people in a democratic system.

“Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” are the ideals the United States was founded on. This means that everyone has a right to live and go after what makes them happy. They are able to do this without fear of punishment, retaliation, or persecution. However, some countries throughout history, believed that this was not the correct way for their people to live. They felt that the government should have outright control over everything the people did. In light of this, such a country may be led by someone who is formally known as dictator. Americans that have been born and raised with the belief in freedom and choice find this way of thinking to be unprincipled and undeserved. The idea of freedom and choice is known as democracy; which is the way the United States government has been run since 1776. Both of these forms of government are in some ways very similar. For the most part, however, a dictatorship is very different from a democracy.

I believe that the American Government allows Americans to be very democratic on some issues, and not as much on others. I think the way the American Electoral Democracy is set up, for example, does a good job of representing everyone’s vote for president. As far as policies go, America could do a much better job of equally representing each person.

What is a democracy? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2017), a democracy is “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representations usually involving periodically held free elections.” When supporting democracy, it not only encourages basic American values but it also encourages one national interest to help secure its citizens focusing on human rights. A democracy allows the citizens to speak their minds on issues and help the government come up with ways to solve them. The United States seeks to secure peace, discourage aggression, fight international terrorism and crime, uphold worker rights, improve the environment globally,

We live in this country for the land, and the for the free as Americans we rely on many attributes in this world in order for us to live our lives. Our government has supplied us with many great things for us to be proud of. Our government is “the institutions and processes though which public policies are made for society.” (Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry, p. 7). With all these institutions which includes the President, Congress, the courts and all the federal administrative agencies. These are the institutions that make up public policies for us, and to shape the way we live as Americans. The way this system has been operating through all the years has been

What is America? When answering this question, the word democracy often comes to mind. But what makes America democratic? Common responses would most likely center around the civic opportunity to have a say in governmental representatives. Although this is all true, Nancy Rosenblum would argue America’s democratic society is not centered on the civic involvement in the government, but the democracy of everyday life in neighborhoods. In Good Neighbors, Rosenblum talks about the democracy of everyday life in neighborhoods, which functions on neighbor’s reciprocity, speaking out, and live and let live attitudes. Through these three features among neighborhoods, the democracy of everyday life best resembles the foundation of America’s democracy.

American democracy established based on federalism, where two or more levels of governments have a control over the same geographic area. This is a unique characteristic of American democracy unlike some other democracies that the powers are centralized. Generally, a federal government governs issues such as national defense, borders, and foreign policy, while the states govern issues of education, law enforcement, and local regulations. Both the national or federal government and the state governments have the power to make laws, and they have divided yet overlapping sovereign power from each other. The Tenth Amendment states that powers are not specifically listed in the U.S. Constitution, like minimum drinking age, property taxes, and minimum

In the United States, democracy has been a central component since our founding fathers. Although democracy promotes freedom and economic developments, it is also critiqued for its negative drawbacks. One critique involves high deficits, may be due to the rapid growth of citizens that creates income inequality, and a growing gap between the rich and poor. An additional critique is the decline of education due to very high tuition cost, unmotivated teachers and students, rigorous testing, and unmet performance measures. Further, the various components listed as critiques may be found to be valid, invalid, constructive or destructive. Lastly, the conclusion would be based on an individual’s evaluation of critiques of democracy.

The United States prides itself on its democratic idealism and believes the every state should have the opportunity to experience the freedom democracy offers. Democracy, in term of American values, allows for the “right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” . These are inalienable for everyone and those countries that withhold this must be change or reformed. The United States with other democratic countries has taken on the project of converting all non-democratic states into democratic governments. This process in motivated by the face, many believe democratic nation are better for the world than the latter. Unfortunately moving to such “perfect” model of government is not easy and sometimes close to an impossible

Throughout the course of time, democracy is now becoming widely accepted by a majority of countries. As countries become generally educated, democracy is become favorable. As the liberation Technology becomes an acceptable way of education, countries seek the freedom of technology. Liberation technology also allows for other people to look at the democracy of the United States and share ideas. As citizens become more educated and have greater income, the democracy’s popularity grows. The freedom of working and profiting from their own money makes people of other countries look at democracy with envy. Moderate religious practices, not including extreme religions, provide a moral grounding for a system that respects the freedom and dignity of