Democracy Essay

“The strongest democracies flourish from frequent and lively debate, but they endure when people of every background and belief find a way to set aside smaller differences in service of a greater purpose.” This quote was said by former President Barack Obama at a press conference back in 2009. The United States of America was the underdog in the American Revolutionary War, but with the help of the strong-willed people who migrated over to this forward-thinking country and the support of our French allies, we won our independence. While residence of the red, white, and blue might have thought that the war was the end of our problems, in hindsight, it was only the beginning. We built our nation to be the best example of democracy on the planet, but it took a long time before that affirmation became true. Many lives have been lost fighting for our democracy. Before the Civil War, to call our great country a democracy would be a dishonest statement. According to Merriam-Webster, 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 representation usually involving periodically held free elections.” During this time, slaves, women of all races, and white men in the original thirteen colonies who did not own land could not vote. These people had no say in the government and that is not a democracy. The United States of America was not a true democracy after we declared independence in 1776.

One extensive debate many people have in the United States is, are we actually a democracy? The truthful answer to that is no. The United States may legally state that our country is a democracy, but as a matter a fact it is not. Much research has been done to prove that we are not democratic. As many may know, our country faces a variety of problems everyday. Yet, some of these problems affect our democracy. Just some of the problems are voting issues, constitutional violations, and human rights violations. Our “democracy” is not what it is suppose to be.

Is voting important to you? As a member of the most influential democracy in the world it should be. Voting in the United States matters enough to some citizens that they have thrown their lives into making it to the ballot box. One of those people is Congressman John Lewis. As a young man Lewis was a leader of the 1960’s fight for African American voting rights. In the third volume of his graphic novel March, Lewis, with coauthor Andrew Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell, documents that fight and the subsequent signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Act, which instituted Federal oversight of elections in areas notorious for voter discrimination, was repeatedly renewed until 2013, when key parts were struck down by the Supreme Court. Because it limited the ability of a number of states to enact their own voting laws, removal of the Act has led to the institution of new laws requiring certain forms of identification at the polls. Although there are dissenting voices that vehemently protest voter ID laws as discriminatory, they are in reality a reasonable and efficient measure which serves to protect the integrity of the American vote.

Throughout history, countries around the world have demanded political change. Most of these changes have resulted in a step in the direction of democracy. However, the sustainability of a new democratic regime depends on how strong the foundations of the democratic institutions are. France and Russia are two of the most notable states that sought to replace dysfunctional authoritarian models with democracy. Despite approaching democracy in similar ways, democracy in France proved to be successful and democracy in Russia was not. This is because unlike France, the democratic institutions in Russia were built on weak foundations making democratic performance in Russia illegitimate.

Democracy Derailed looks at the initiative process, the effects of that process and asked the question, "Is this a good way to make public policy?" I feel that even though the process is not perfect it is a great way to allow the average citizen more power in policy making.

There are several traits that make Athenian democracy unique not only in the ancient world but also in the modern world as well. For the first time in recorded history, citizens had a say in what laws were to govern them . Democracy was an unknown and alien concept in the ancient world, and Athenians knew that their political process was different in and they were intensely proud of it. “Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with the institutions of others. We do not copy our neighbours, but are an example to them” (funeral speech.37). The concept of the citizen, the allotment (lottery)system of choosing members of government administration and courts,

Throughout this essay I am to outline what a direct democracy would look like in modern Ireland and show both the advantages and disadvantages of this type of democracy in comparison to representative democracy. I will be arguing that, despite its flaws, some aspects of direct democracy should be implemented into the current representative democracy which exists in Ireland. I will be primarily using the writings of Karl Marx, other Marxist philosophers and Aristotle to reference my answer. These writings are undoubtably still relevant today as these teachings so heavily effected future civilizations.

Dustin: That's great and then if you look at like nine years from now and you're leaving that legislature what else is different? It might be on specific issues or what's different about the system or what else is there because you stood up and you were counted this is now the way Colorado politics is?

Democracy has been in a leading position in the world since it began to gain popularity during the beginning of the 20th century (Fukuyama, 2006). Because it expanded through coercive means, it has meant that democracy continues to extend across the world. When communism began to decline, the West was able to extend democracy into several places both openly and discretely in order to encourage favorable political systems. The nature of the expansion of democracy has been criticized in terms of its legitimacy and viability in developing strong and sustainable governments and benefits to the people of the target states. Most scholars say that intervention cannot lead to a stable democracy, Pickering and Peceny for instance provide a bleak picture by portraying that in the 50 years from 1946-1996, 84% of states going through democratization were not through intervention. Enterline and Greig (2008), argue that 30% of attempts made

The Arab Spring has been a life changing phenomena, not only for the people who are attempting to overthrow their governments but for political scientists everywhere. The events originating in the North African country of Tunisia have led to the snowballing of several other Middle Eastern, predominantly Muslim, nation states. The figurative breaking point might have finally been reached as the oppressed peoples of the Middle East have risen up to overthrow long-standing dictatorial governments in hopes of revolutionary change; change that is subject to the will of the people.

Beginning in the early 1600’s, America received a flood of emigrants seeking religious freedom, an escape from political oppression and economic gains. The emergence of Democracy in colonial America can be attributed to the coming about of several institutions and documents. During this time there were governing bodies, which presided over certain colonies, but no unified system. Many of the laws and freedoms that we possess in America today were established based on the trials and the statutes that were created because of them. The John Peter Zenger trial is a prime example of how a trial established a well-known statute of freedom of the press. The General School Act of 1647 was the origin of modern education laws and the Maryland

In the 2000 presidential election, less than 59% of our population saw fit to even vote. 80.5% of those voting were white, that's roughly 60% of the white population. Of the meager 19.5% of the vote the non-white population represented, less than 51% of non-whites able to vote actually did (Census). What does this mean? How can democracy – a republic like ours – correctly function without a more complete representation of opinion from its people? Former UCLA Law professor Julian Eule argued in his essay “Judicial Review of Direct Democracy” that the framers of our constitution set up the republic to in effect protect us from ourselves, to protect us from this sort of majority rule.(Eule) I believe that this misrepresentation

In some nations, if you asked the people what they are most proud of about their own country, they might tell you about art, or architecture, great literary works, or the natural beauty of the land. But here in America, one of the things we are most proud of is our system of government. Being a democracy. The freedom to chose our own leaders. It’s ironic that the thing we are most proud of is not strictly true. We are not a direct democracy, in pure form, as Richard Parker points out. We are a Republic. What is the difference? To give a silly example from every day life, say you have a group of five people and it’s lunchtime. Where will they go for lunch? Well this IS America, and we do so love our democracy, so the group will vote. Who

Politics is a process by which a group of people, whose opinions or interests might be divergent, reach collective decisions that are generally regarded as binding on the group and enforced as common policy.

Like a living organism, democracy must be born into a time where the parents, circumstances, are right to understand the potential of such a child, democracy, and the soil, society, may be described as the type of state that is ready to accept and nurture that child. Metaphors aside, democracy has been noted to provide a better opportunity for human development. Democracy is also commonly defined as a political system that is associated with free and fair elections. A democratic regime simply refers to a system of governance that places sovereignty in the citizen’s hands which allow them to contribute to the process of decision-making through their elected officials. Democracy is not as old as many may originally think. As recent as 1974,