Is democracy dying in the USA?

 

Table of Contents

Issue/Question. 4

Background Information. 4

Arguments For. 5

Arguments Against 6

Policy Recommendation. 7

Personal Opinion. 8

Bibliography. 9

Issue/Question

Research Question:

Is democracy dying in the USA?

Background Information

USA is a democratic country. The founding fathers of USA knew about the changing world and the importance of democratic nations. Therefore, since its inception, they opted for a democratic governance system for USA (Couto, 2013). In America, each person has the right to vote and each vote is counted as one. This is how the country elects a president and members of the other constitutional institutions who are responsible for legislations. For a functioning democracy, it is important to function fully in three dimensions namely, rule of law, accountability, freedom and equality (Morlino, 2004). These three dimension help spread peace, prosperity, justice and social harmony in a country. Since the time USA was founded, I must confess that there were not fill rights available to all the citizens of the country. Especially, the black citizens of the USA were not treated and considered as equal. This is why, the speed at which USA could have prospered did not happen. But, as I said earlier, democracy is something that improves through an evolutionary process, the black citizens did get their social rights, thanks to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil rights movement of the 60’s, led by great people like Dr. King contributed to allowing USA have a functioning democracy and equality and social cohesion across people of different colors and religions (Sowell & Bundy, 1984).

According to Rose (2018), there are many signs that could lead us to introspect about the status of a decaying democracy. The first sign is the centralization of power by the rulers. As an example, I would like to mention the frequent use of the executive powers by President Donald Trump. Another sign is attacks on the independent media. We can see many instances of many responsible people labeling free US media channels like CNN Fake News. The use of a public office for private gains is another sign of a decaying democracy. Decisions like appointing family members by the President of the United States is one of the example of using the power the people invested in you for personal and family gains.

There are many example and arguments to be provided about the status of the democratic system of USA. Many of them can be used in favor of the democracy working for its people while other arguments can be stated against the proper functioning of the democratic system of the country. In the sections bellow, I will put forward these arguments. I will also provide my personal view point about the topic and provide recommendation that can help in taking the democratic system and norms of the country in a positive direction.

Arguments For

There are many arguments in favor of US democracy dying. The first argument is about the existence of inequality in the USA even in the 21^st century. According to Jacobs & Skocpol (2005), there is an increase in social and economic inequality in the USA in the last few years. This inequality is contributing towards a loss of trust in the democratic system of the country by the people of the country. The people have started to think that democracy may not be something for them.

In the recent years, we have seen an enormous campaign called #BlackLivesMatter. The evolving role of social media has contributed towards encouraging people from marginalized communities to protest about their right being violated (Carney, 2016). #BlackLivesMatter and other social movements are caused when there is a need to rethink the rule of law and how it effects different people. The status of rule of law must be dangerously deteriorate for so many people to have an increased level of distrust and come out in so many numbers to protest against it. This is a clear sign of people losing trust in the democratic system which would surely contributes towards the decaying and eventually death of the democratic system.

Arguments Against

According to Naff & Crum (1999), there is a motivation in the public of the people of USA to serve the democratic norms of the country and take the country in a direction that adds to the quality of the democracy and not deteriorate it from its existing status. What constitutes a country? Obviously, the people of a country make up a country, of the majority of the people are in favor of democracy, there is no power that can take away democracy from USA. There are going to be hurdles in the path of democracy, but, the will of power will overcome it eventually.

According to Ober (2008), people in Athens during the time democracy was being born had started to get a good education which influence their innovative thinking and liberalization. When we look around in USA, there is an increased amount of innovation on many fronts. SpaceX is the first private company in the world to engage in space ventures. People from all over the world look up to USA, its democratic system, higher education and innovation. The expectations of so many people from within and outside of the USA would always be helpful in keeping USA on a democratic path. USA is a world leading country which has a final say in many of the world’s decisions. The world needs USA more than USA needs the world. For it to be a balanced world, USA must always be a democracy.

Policy Recommendation

There is still a lot of room for US democracy to prosper and work for the American people. Having said that, there is no immediate threat to the democracy dying sooner. Following are some of the recommendations that I would like to provide to contribute towards an increased trust of the people of US in its democracy.

Civic engagement

There is a need to encourage the citizens of USA to be more engaged in the civic activities happening around them. According to Skocpol & Fiorina (2004), civic engagement is a contributor towards the better functioning of the country. When people are engaged, they start to believe the system that are governed with. They feel being helped and of help to others. This would definitely increase their motivation level to serve their country.

Rule of law

Rule of law, as earlier mentioned, is an integral part of a functioning democracy. If the legislator of the country feel there are any fundamental flaws in the rules and regulations that govern the country, they can always go back to them and bring about positive changes with consensus. There are always loopholes in the governance and legal system of a country that may be exploited by a tiny minority to create unrest in the society. Such people, even if they are in uniforms, must be stopped and made accountable.

Social cohesion

Americans have voted for a president who may not be a great example of a person who encourages social cohesion. The evolutionary path of democratic states take them from being party states towards multiethnic democratic states (Heyneman, 2000). I think that with this realization, the people of the country would start to trust each other. Multiculturalism and diversity are important for social cohesion and there is a need for an increased awareness of this fact for the democratic system to move towards it logical completion.

Equality

Each person should be equal in the eyes of the states and law. #BlackLivesMatter movement have made us realize that all the citizens need to be treated equally. For the US democracy to really function and move in a positive direction, it is highly recommended to strive to provide all its citizens equal opportunities to education, health, jobs and housing.

Personal Opinion

I have always looked up to American democracy because this is the best form of democracy in the world at the moment. I know that there are some periodic bumps like the present time which may force some people to think against the democratic system in regards to how it is functioning. Having said that, I am an optimist. I think that with time, the US democracy has gained the internal power of overcoming any periodic hurdles in a direction that adds to its strengths, not weakness. The people of the country have realized, over the last few centuries, I must say, that the survival and strengths of USA is in a democratic system. The trust and commitment of the majority of the people of USA would not let democracy die anywhere in the future in my opinion.           

Bibliography

Carney, N. (2016). All lives matter, but so does race: Black lives matter and the evolving role of social media. Humanity & Society, 40(2), 180-199.

Couto, R. A. (2013). Dear Publius: Reflections on the Founding Fathers and charismatic leadership. In Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th    Anniversary Edition (pp. 111-124). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Heyneman, S. P. (2000). From the party/state to multiethnic democracy: Education and social cohesion in Europe and Central Asia. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 22(2), 173-191.

Jacobs, L. R., & Skocpol, T. (Eds.). (2005). Inequality and American democracy: What we know and what we need to learn. Russell Sage Foundation.

Morlino, L. (2004). What is a ‘good’democracy?. Democratization, 11(5), 10-32.

Naff, K. C., & Crum, J. (1999). Working for America: Does public service motivation make a difference?. Review of public personnel administration, 19(4), 5-16.

Ober, J. (2008). Democracy and knowledge: Innovation and learning in classical Athens. Princeton University Press.

Rose, G. (2018). Is Democracy Dying?.

Skocpol, T., & Fiorina, M. P. (Eds.). (2004). Civic engagement in American democracy. Brookings Institution Press.

Sowell, T., & Bundy, J. (1984). Civil rights: Rhetoric or reality?. New York, NY: Quill. biblioteca.ufm.edu/library