My own service to country in the Navy during Desert Storm aside, being the son of a father who was born on Veternas Day and growing up on army bases under the guidance of a father who went to military school for most of his youth, only begins to explain why I feel so strongly about liberty. When you combine his obvious love of country with the fact that he voluteered for two tours in Vietnam, became a highly decorated Green Beret who won the Silver Star and a Purple Heart for saving the lives of three soldiers during the Tet Offensive in 1968, not to mention the Presidential Commodation he was awarded by Ronald Reagan for the two years he spent with the CIA in Central America, then maybe you will have a pretty good idea of how I was raised, and why I gave up my …show more content…
It requires pragmatic thought to understand such an ideology, but you have to remember that democracy is fragile. Yes, it may be grounded in the principles of freedom, justice and prosperity. However, democracy is subject to question, change, corruption and even failure. This is our dilemma and the state in which we cerrently reside in as American citizens. Historically all democratic societies experience degradation, and in many cases, social, economic and political collapse. For free and open societies, the effects of democratic failure have the most significant and long term impact on its citizens. The political philosophers in ancient Greece were undecided when it came to democracy. The Greek aristocracy wanted to preside over their own affairs. They had much to lose if an oppressive tyrant leveraged power against the freedom of its people. Democratic principles were loosely implemented into the rule of European monarchies. The royal families hoarded all the wealth they could and simply hoped for a king that could control the people while exercising sufficient wisdom to preserve and protect the classes of
For every year that passes, it seems as though more and more people are beginning to lose their faith in the US government. Many have grown tired of being ignored by their representatives, while others are disgusted by the greed and corruption that appears to control every movement congress makes. In the blog, "The Disease of American Democracy," published in the Huffington Post, the author, Robert Reich, explores this very idea; however, instead of merely agreeing with the majority of the American public, Reich uses his blog to motivate Americans to once again become politically active, so as to restore the democracy that there once was in the US. Just like any other author, Reich certainly took his audience into much consideration. Reich
First, Pericles strongly promoted the benefits of an organized democracy at a funeral orientation for fallen Roman soldiers. He cried, “While every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public, we rewarded our most distinguished citizens by asking them to make our political decisions” (2). This encouraged citizens to work hard. They elected people to office similarly to how Americans elect people for office today. The Greek democracy heavily impacted the modern day American democracy because every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public and make important political decisions.
Controled by Alexander the Great, the Greeks tried to regain their government but failed. Some parts of the original democratic system remained functioning throughout the the years. But it was no longer the "Demos" or the Assembly that made the political decisions. In my opinion, the end of democracy for Athens was coming.
The United States is no Longer Following a Democracy A democracy is a form of government in which the people decide important matters and problems. Is the United States following this definition of democracy? The answer is no.
Have you ever asked yourself "how would the world be if there was no structure to allow people to vote for the person who is leading their country?". How about "Does my vote really count ?" or "does the opinion and choice of me, one person, really make a difference?". These questions aren't simply answered but should be seriously thought of by anybody who is a citizen of a country which has an established government and truly cares about the wellbeing and future of the country that they live in. I will be focused on the importance of voting for the president themselves is important. Individuals whom are over the age 18 and have a vailidated citisenship of the country they wish to vote on, have the opretunitiy to vote on several different ascepts of the government.
The source of Socrates’ suspicion of democracy stems from the argument that the general public is ignorant and therefore lacks the knowledge or reason to make the best decision for government and electing officials. The foundation of democracy is based on majority rule, however because the majority is unaware of what truly is good for them, by virtue of their ignorance, the masses are not capable of electing a leaders fit to run the state or government. Socrates contends that due to the general public’s ignorance, the majority will vote in favor of what and who panders to their desires and wants rather than what is logical and better for their souls (459b). Because the general public is ignorant, those who have the knack of oratory pander to the desires of the masses and therefore the consequence of democracy is inherent corruption in the governing structure. Socrates contends that the art of
Even our founding fathers didn 't want a democracy, because they thought it would cause disarray and issues. The United States of America is not truly a democracy for those
Democracy is a government of people which the power rests on the elected agents under an electoral vote. Abraham Lincoln phrased democracy is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." Some say that Democracy and freedom are mutual words in that section, but the two are not synonymous. It’s true that democracy is a set of idea on freedom and liberty, although it also consists of procedures which were constructed throughout the time. Because Democracy in short is the division of freedom, we can identify that government, equality of people and human rights as democratic.
For example in the United States we do not have a direct democracy like Athens, but a representative democracy. This means we elect representatives to make decisions for us. Without Athens democracy, the United States’ government may not be the democratic society it is
The progressive movement encompassed a variety of different ideas and activities of reformist pressure groups, that called for political reforms attacking bribery and corruption. Progressive reformers were sought to eliminate social reform issues which included poor working conditions, female suffrage, and child labor. They were also sought to delegate power away from the political institutions by entrusting some legislative power to commissions. It is from the initiative and referendum process that placed legislation or constitutional amendments directly before the voters. The initiative did this by circumventing the legislature, relying instead on a petition process to force a vote on a particular issue either in the legislature or by the general process.
Ancient Greek Forms of Government Introduction to the Various Forms of Government Ancient Greece has experienced numerous forms of government throughout the years. The five forms of government that I will compare and contrast are monarchy, oligarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, and democracy. All of these words derived from Greek origins but they are all very different. Monarchy
A democracy is defined as “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Policy matters directly.” In other words, democracy is ruled by the people and they have say in what they want in our government, by voting for everything they want. The government brags about being the first nation to embrace a democratic constitution, but is it really? There are a lot of arguments weather the United States is or is not a democracy government.
“Young people need to vote. They need to get out there. Every vote counts. Educate yourself to. Don 't just vote.
Their rule started the darkest period of the French Revolution ------- aristocrats and their associates were murdered, food shortages and costly wars happened, and even the taxation system barren. These experiences under monarchial rule had made the people thought and fought for egalitarianism, in which democracy is best suited. Democracy is looked as the end of everyone
First of all, it is important to know the definition of democracy and its aspects. According to Peter Joyce (2005), the democratic government was initiated in the Greek city state of Athens in the fifth century B.C., so as a consequence, the word ‘democracy’ derived from two Greek words, demos (meaning ‘people’) and kratos (meaning ‘power’) , which means ‘government by the people’. Secondly, Giovanni Sartori (1997), a Political Science Researcher states that ‘democracy’ is an abbreviation that means Liberal Democracy. He distinguishes three aspects: democracy as a principle of legitimacy (power not derives