Democracy

Jordan Brown Cassidy Town olivia smith

**Democracy:**
The Idea of Democracy is the belief that we, the people, can be responsible for ourselves; that we can pick our own leaders and run our own government. Democracy had been tried long before the writing of our constitution, 2,000 years previously in a Greek city-state called Athens, and it worked remarkably well. The majority of the Athenians were happy and prosperous; since then their plays, sculptures, and writings have rarely been surpassed. However, there were some flaws in the Athenian democracy. Women did not vote, slaves did all the hard work, and there was no protection for minorities when the voting majority made poor decisions.

In the United States we improved on the Greek idea of democracy. Unlike the people of Greece, we worried about protecting minorities and individuals from what is called "the tyranny of the majority." (the tyranny of the majority is the scenario in which decisions made by a majority under that system would place that majority's interests so far above a dissenting individual's interest.) Unfortunately we didn't establish the "perfect" democracy. The U.S. Constitution begins with the words "We the people." But, we didn't mean all the people did we? Just like the Greeks, we allowed slavery, and women could not vote. Our constitution was the best constitution and nation has ever written. Our Founding Fathers understood that a "fair" government is a great process. One can't expect it all to happen at once. We would have to work hard, adapt, and transform.

Soon after our constitution went into effect, in 1789, other nations began examining America to see if democracy would work. Soon other nations became democratic. But something was soiling U.S. democracy. It was a common practice in many places. Thomas Jefferson referred to it as a "cruel war against human nature itself." It was slavery. Eventually, after a longer wait than one would have hoped for, a civil war was fought to abolish slavery. Yes, it would have been kinder, and smarter to end slavery without a war, but slavery was wrong. We needed to get rid of it, and we did it the way we thought was easiest.

Now, as far as the women are concerned, we gave all citizens the right to vote in the 15th Amendment. But the 15th Amendment didn't make it clear whether or not women were citizens. The people running our nation didn't seem to think they were. Women picketed, went to jail, and protested until, in 1920, the 19th Amendment granted them the right to vote. People began to notice that democracies didn't often go to war with each other, which led us to believe it was important to encourage democracy elsewhere. Unfortunately some people were not understanding the concept. They seemed to think that democracy was simply the absence of all controls. Thankfully, total freedom isn't what democracy is all about. Democracy is said to be a responsible government and has controls established by we the people.

Remember, building a free, fair government is a long, difficult process and that improvement is a process without end. There is one thing I am sure of: in a government of the people, the people must pay attention. If the citizens don't get involved in their government, they can potentially lose their invaluable rights. It is clear, that in a democracy, if you desire to change things, you must be part of the process.

Many don't realize that we do a better job of taking part in our government than they think we do. Many people risked everything, including their lives, to insure that our democracy turned out to be what it was meant to be: a government for all the people.

Primary Source: A History of Us, Book Ten, All the People by Joy Hakim. Secondary Source: None.