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Why Democracy Matters By Rory Stewart Speech

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The word democracy is associated with liberty, equality, freedom of speech etc. Democracy is the most dominant form of government in the world, yet the public faith in democracy is disappearing, according to British MP Rory Stewart. Afghanistan and Iraq’s new democracies are deeply corrupt; while 84 percent of the British people share the opinion that their democracy is simply broke. In the important speech “ Why democracy matters” by Rory Stewart in 2016, Stewart sees it necessary to call to action in order to rebuild democracy, starting with the importance of democracy as an ideal.

Rory Stewart uses direct argumentation to state his point of view, he does not begin his speech suddenly jumping into the issue of democracy but by starting his speech with a joke instead, which makes the audience more comfortable: “So little Billy goes to school, and he sits down and the teacher says, ‘What does your father do?’ And little Billy says, ‘ My father plays piano in an opium den.’ So the teacher rings up the parents, and says, ‘Very shocking story from little Billy today. Just heard that he claimed that you play the piano in an opium den.’ And the father says, ‘I’m very sorry. Yes, it’s true, I lied. But how can I tell an eight-year-old boy that …show more content…

The following quote is a great example that directly expresses the way Stewart feels as he reveals his profession to the audience: “ Now as a politician myself, standing in front of you, or indeed, meeting any stranger anywhere in the world, when I eventually reveal the nature of my profession, they look at me as though I’m somewhere between a snake, a monkey and an iguana, and through all of this, I feel, strongly, that something is going wrong.”(P 1. L 6-9). All in all Stewart directly expresses his idea that democracy should be considered important itself throughout his speech, and not because of the benefits of

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