The Gaps Behind Democratic Instability
Democracy is a system of government where the power resides in the people instead of a select few. America’s democracy in particular relies on a system of checks and balances between the three branches of government to best represent the wishes of the people through elected and appointed representatives. However, the majority of Americans are discontent with the current government. A 2017 Gallup survey revealed that only 28 percent of Americans answered that they are “satisfied with the way the nation is being governed”, which was 10 percent below the average across all surveys conducted since 1971 (“How Americans Perceive Government in 2017”). This statistic raises the question of whether our democracy
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When the constitution was adopted in 1787, voting rights mainly resided with protestant, white, property-holding men (“Who Got the Right to Vote When?”). Through the next few centuries basic voting rights have improved significantly, with the 15th amendment in 1870 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965 providing African Americans with the right to vote, and the 19th amendment giving the vote in 1920 (“Who Got the Right to Vote When?”). However many political inequalities still exist today, including those in regards to race, education, and income, which ultimately results in feelings of representation. In terms of voting, there are many barriers that stop potential voters from expressing their basic voting rights. Voter ID laws that require a valid form photo identification discriminate against those who lack or can’t afford the ID, which particularly hurts minority, poor, and young voters. Black and Hispanic citizens are three times as likely not to have the necessary ID in order to vote (Weeks). Additionally, long waits at the polls deter those who do not have the time or patience to wait in line, and these waits disproportionally hurt minority voters (Weeks). In the 2012 election, black and Hispanic voters needed to wait more than 20 minutes on average, which was about twice as long as the …show more content…
Even if we are faced with barriers that work against equal representation, in the end, every vote still carries equal weight. By voting in spite of these restrictions, we can strive to obtain better representation from elected officials. Additionally, education remains a key factor in protecting our democracy. According to a Harvard paper, there is a high correlation between democracy and education, with countries with low education levels being more likely to transition to a dictatorship (Glaeser, Edward L., et al). Furthermore, education was shown to lead to greater civic engagement (Glaeser, Edward L., et al). One reason for these two relationships might be due to education causing a greater understanding of which politicians strive to make the country more equal, and which politicians try to manipulate the emotions of the population for their own selfish goals. By having an educated population, the country would be better able to identify and elect these superior candidates. Furthermore, by reducing the income gap between the rich and poor we can slow the growing polarization of representation in the country. Right now, the top 1 percent of Americans controls more than a third of the nation’s wealth, which is double the amount the bottom 90 percent controls (Egan). By working to reduce this inequality, we can
On the national civics assessment, “two-thirds of 12th graders scored below ‘proficient’…and only 9 percent could list two ways a democracy benefits from citizen participation” (O’Connor and Romer 4). The information provided clarifies just how little students know about democracy. Without education on the subject, they are unaware as to how their government contribution is beneficial and why it is needed in the first place. The students, because of their lack of understanding, therefore choose to not take part in their government and fail to carry out their duties as a citizen. The authors provide more research that shows “the better people understand our history and system of government, the more likely they are to vote and participate in the civic life” (O’Connor and Romer 8).
The government in the United States supposedly revolves around American ideals such as equality and diversity; however, this is simply not the case. The meaning of democracy has been skewed in the United States to represent something entirely different than it did in 1776 when the country was founded. Today, our democracy behaves more like an aristocracy, where the upper class exercises power within the government and state, influencing discourse and therefore the laws and resources in our country, purportedly “for the people”. Democracy is presumed to provide everyone with equal political power, but the government in today’s America, although seemingly following this ideal model, does not. Instead, the elite upper-class have a monopoly over
Throughout American History, people of power have isolated specific racial and gender groups and established policies to limit their right to vote. These politicians, in desperate attempt to elongate their political reign, resort to “anything that is within the rules to gain electoral advantage, including expanding or contracting the rate of political participation.”(Hicks) Originally in the United States, voting was reserved for white, property-owning gentleman
Janda, K., Berry, J., Golman, J., & Hula, K. (2009). The Challenge of Democracy: American
Ten states put voter identification restriction laws into place, restrictions targeting the minority, the poor and the elderly vote. To be quite honest, it’s clear that these voter restrictions are control tactics implemented predominantly by republicans, continuing to be an issue in the most recent election. Although in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Texas court rulings blocked certain new restrictions, fourteen states remain on the list of states with restrictions, including Wisconsin, Kansas and Texas. "We cannot ignore the recent evidence that, because of race, the legislature enacted one of the largest restrictions of the franchise in modern North Carolina history,” Judge Diana Motz wrote. In order for votes to be counted equally, all citizens must be allowed the opportunity to even be eligible.
Democracy- a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives (Dictionary.com). The Constitution starts out with the phrase “We the People”, but is the constitution properly representing all the current people in the United States and providing us with a true democracy? The constitution is outdated and does not properly take into account the current typical American lifestyle. Along with being outmoded the Constitution has created an undemocratic legislative process in our country resulting in many unnecessary or unsuccessful legislative decrees.
The wave of new voting restrictions passed around the country, mostly by Republicans, after their victories in the 2010 elections. Supporters of the law argue that such restrictions are necessary to prevent fraud. On the other hand, voting law opponents contend these laws disproportionately affect elderly, minority and low-income groups that tend to vote Democratic. Obtaining photo ID can be costly and burdensome because photo ID laws create a new "financial barrier to the ballot box”. It would have prevented hundreds of thousands of Hispanic voters from the polls just because they lack a state-issued photo ID.
Democracy is rule by the people; the people elect governing officials based off of their personal values and beliefs. Different political parties rule the political scene and are serving to represent the people’s opinions in the best ways possible. Previously, I had a belief that my political view was essentially the only one possible and therefore it was the best. These views changed quickly once I learned the different political parties, their views, how they represent the people’s views, and how public opinion shapes politics. The government is formed around differentiating opinions on which policies should be in place and which social aspects need to be considered first. Not only is the government guided by opinion, but the people’s lives are guided by opinion as well. Each individual holds a different view, and each view can have an influence on society. Fortunately, after roughly eight weeks of studying American Government, I now have a better sense of complexity and the value of
The United States is run by a democracy. There are many pieces to democracy that must be in good health in order for democracy to be effective and work. In this essay I will critique some of the most important parts of democracy in America and go deeper. I will first focus on the strengths of United States democracy and then I will dive into categories of democracy that I believe to not be thriving. I believe that the current conditions of United States democracy are becoming a hindrance to this nation, because the opinions and freedoms the public possess are being stripped away through poor media, education, and economy.
The United States of America is a republic, or representative democracy. Democracy, a word that comes to us from Greek, literally means the people rule (Romance, July 8). This broad definition leaves unanswered a few important details such as who are the people, how shall they rule, and what should they rule on (July 8). Defining the answers to those questions means defining a model for a democratic system. William E. Hudson defines four such models in his book American Democracy in Peril: the Protective, Developmental, Pluralist, and Participatory models of democracy (Hudson, 8-19). Of these models, perhaps Participatory comes closest to an ideal, pure democracy of rule by the people (16-19). In practice, however, establishing a stable ideal democracy is not entirely feasible. In a country the size of the United States, it quickly becomes unwieldy if not impossible to have direct rule by the people. To overcome this, the compromise of the representative system allows the people to choose who will rule on a regular basis. The political culture that defines American politics shows that despite this compromise, America is still very much a democratic society.
John Adams once said "You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." For many generations, our ancestors have fought for the right to vote. It started with the Civil Rights Act in 1964 which made it mandatory that white schools integrate black children into their institutions. The outcome of the 1964 election was a landslide, favoring the democrats, which broached the issue of civil rights legislation. In 1964 “only 7% of eligible black citizens in Mississippi were registered; in Alabama the figure was 20% (Kernell, et. al 2014, 162). The low voter turnout rate was because people of color were required to take a literacy test. This all changed when President Johnson
"After 1815 Americans transformed the republic of the Founding Fathers into a democracy. State after state revoked property qualifications for voting and holding officethus transforming Jefferson's republic of property holders into Andrew Jackson's mass democracy. Democracy, however, was not for everyone. While states extended political rights to all white men, they often withdrew or limited such rights for blacks. As part of the same trend, the state of New Jersey took the vote away from propertied women, who formerly had possessed that right. Thus the democratization of citizenship applied exclusively to white men. In the mid19th century, these men went to the polls in record numbers. The election of 1828 attracted 1.2 million voters; that number jumped to 1.5 million in 1836 and to 2.4 million in 1840. Turnout of eligible voters by 1840 was well over 60 percenthigher than it had ever been, and much higher than it is now." (Remini, 1998)
I am responding to Micheal Schudson’s essay titled “America’s Ignorant Voter”. He makes several arguments against whether America having relatively ignorant voters poses a problem to our society, and whether it’s becoming worse over the years. One of the arguments he poses as to why Americans seem so clueless about political matters is due to the complexities of our nation’s political institutions.
The cycle of low scholastic achievement is so prevalent in poverty stricken communities is the benefit the political system. The politicians continue to keep their jobs and political power and education is power. This is accomplished because illiteracy inhibits the knowledge required to vote for a qualified candidate for office. “Economies with low or high levels of education can escape the poverty trap, and inequality plays a key role in determining whether this occurs through a change in institutions or an expansion of education”Eicher.Garcia-Penalosa and Tanguy van Ypersele,p207.
Since 1912, only about 50 to 65 percent of Americans have voted in presidential elections and still fewer in other elections: 40 to 50 percent in off-year congressional elections and as few as 10 to 20 percent in primaries and minor local elections, although the exact number depends on how turnout is measured (Greenberg, and Page, 2009). Voter turnout started dropping at the end of the nineteenth century, reaching the 60 percent level by the election of 1912 (Teixeira, 1987). The right to vote, originally quite limited, was. expanded in various historical surges to include nearly all adults and to apply to most major offices. Turnout is lower than it was in the late nineteenth century in the US and lower than in other democratic countries, it has continued to decrease, not including the recent presidential elections (Greenberg, and Page, 2009).