Democracy In the US
Although not a direct democracy, the United States has successfully solved the many enduring issues that face any democracy. These issues are numerous and range from political equality all the way to rights and responsibilities of citizens. Although there are many concerns to confront, democracy is still the most preferable form of government. Niccolo Machiavelli said, "Government by the populace is better than government by the princes." (p.15) The first issue that a democracy must deal with is who is eligible for citizenship. In ancient Greece a citizen was any free adult male who could fight. This didn't include women, slaves, or the crippled. I agree with Thomas Jefferson when he wrote in the Declaration of Independence, "all men are created equal." (p.101) Men and women, old or young, should not be denied citizenship. The next issue that faces a democracy is Representation and Participation. How are people represented fairly, and how can they participate in the government? The next issue includes how laws are made and how easily they can be changed. This procedure is found in the beginning of the Constitution. The fourth issue includes the rights and responsibilities of the citizens. In the United States, the ri
Also, the role of the middle class is also a very important part when balancing out the opinions of the rich and the opinions of the poor. In the US, people are part of so many factions that it would be nearly impossible to find just one that would gain enough support to significantly influence the government. To keep this from happening, each branch has checks and balances over the others. From looking at past democracies such as the Greeks, the framers of the Constitution knew these issues and tried to solve them by constructing a solid Constitution. Which has worked now for over two hundred years. In 1690 John Locke spoke of an absolute monarchy by saying, "Hence it is evident, that absolute monarchy, which by some men is counted the only government in the world, is indeed inconsistent with civil society, and so can be no form of civil society at all. With our population as large as it is, it would be nearly impossible to have every person vote on every issue. Examples of this can be seen all over the country and not just in Congress. Another concern of democracy is the rights of the majority and minority. (p118) A worry that the framers had was that one of the three branches would gain power over the other two, or one branch would abuse their power. Every person must have an equal say in the government regardless of economic status. 12) The last issue is the concern of security, both internal and external.
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Acceptance Essays
