Is US Democracy Thriving?

Is US Democracy Thriving?

1. Although people define democracy differently, the most commonly used definition is ‘rule by the people’ (Harrison & Boyd, 60). The word stems from two Greek words; demos (the people) and kratein (to rule). Democracy manifests in various forms. These include popular government, republican government, representative government & participation in government. According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the United States has adopted representative democracy. Bentzen, Hariri & Robinson (2) define representative democracy as the succession of leadership through elections or communal consensus. Therefore, the citizens vote in their government officials in the United States. Elected officials then create laws and policies on behalf of the citizens. According to Blockmans & Russack (9), the core feature in a representative democracy is the citizens’ participation in making decisions through voting. This form of democracy guarantees every citizen equal political rights. This ensures the individual rights of the minorities are safeguarded above those of the majority. However, according to Blockmans & Russack (9) acknowledge that representative democracy may lead to unjust outcomes especially when the majority deprives the substantive rights and interests of the minority. This makes it difficult to implement the ideals of democracy. Bearing in mind the difficulty in implementing democratic ideals, the US democracy is thriving as it successfully puts into practice and upholds many important aspects of its constitution that enable its citizens to live freely and as equals despite differences in race, color, or economic differences.
2. The level of independence of the judiciary in a representative democracy is important in ensuring the equality of citizens in the country. According to Marciano (2), the judiciary safeguards democracy, and human rights. As such, it ought to be independent and not controlled by people in power or those who possess a substantial amount of finances. Tridimas (1) defines judicial independence as the courts enforcing the law and resolving disputes with no regard to power and without giving preference to any party that appears before them. As such, everyone is made equal. When it comes to the rule of law, everyone is treated the same. Over the years the United States judiciary has been independent in their rulings even when it comes to cases involving the president. For example, in 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump had no right to block the release of his taxes paving the way for prosecutors to get hold of his financial records (Liptak). An independent judiciary helps limit the power of the elected officials.
3. A thriving democracy ensures that there is transparency in public administration and that the elected officials are held accountable. This ensures that the elected officials work in the best interests of the public and that they do not abuse the power entrusted to them by the people. Transparency involves the right of the citizens to know the truth about public issues. It also ensures that the citizens know all the dealings that their elected officials undertake especially involving tax money. On the other hand, accountability ensures that elected officials are held answerable for actions that involve public interest. The United States has ensured that democracy is not undermined by a lack of accountability and transparency in public administration. According to the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), accountability and transparency practices have been established in government agencies. Apart from that, an independent judiciary as well as law enforcement departments are free to investigate, prosecute, and convict any elected official who is found in violation of the law.
4. For a democracy to thrive the citizens should be allowed to express their opinions freely without the threat of punishment. However, this freedom does not include calling for violence against other citizens. In the United States, freedom of speech and expression of opinions is upheld and protected by the constitution. This allows the public to harshly criticize their elected officials. The Supreme Court ruled that even the president cannot block people on social media platforms as they have a right to express their opinions to him since he (President Trump) is an elected official (Marimow).
5. An important feature of representative democracy is the availability of periodic free and fair elections. For a representative democracy to thrive, the elections that it holds must be free of malpractices and fair for all. According to Bishop & Hoeffler (2), malpractices in the electoral process distorts the quality of representation. As such, there will be negative political, social, and economic consequences. In the United States, the elections are held periodically after every four years without fail. It is important to note that the elections have always been free and fair. However, in the 2016 election, there were accusations that the victorious camp had help from Russia hence their victory. This would seriously undermine democracy in the United States. However, a two-year-long investigation into the matter showed that the elections were free and fair (Mazzetti & Benner). This shows that the sitting people were democratically elected by the people hence depicting a thriving democracy.
6. Democracy thrives when human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected and upheld. According to Carson (3), modern Western democracy is characterized by respect for individual freedoms, protection from oppressive state interference, and the defense of human rights. The United States has so far been at the forefront in preserving people’s human rights despite their race, religion, or even political affiliation. This is seen when criminals are arrested for breaking the law. Whenever a person violates any other person’s rights, they are brought to justice without regard to their race, political affiliation, or even social status.
7. For a democracy to thrive, equality before the law has to be achieved. This means that everyone is treated equally by the legal system. When a case is brought before the justice system, it is judged fairly without taking into account anything beyond the account. As such, one’s political influence or even their wealth should not mean that they ought to be treated differently in a court of law. In the United States, everyone is equal before the law. A good example is the arrest of billionaire Jeffry Epstein for alleged sex trafficking charges. Despite his wealth, he was arrested and was set to appear before a court of law (CNBC). This shows that democracy is thriving in the country.
8. Democracy thrives when its citizens are allowed to freely engage in any type of religion and worship practices as long as they do not threaten other people’s freedoms and rights. Dima, Preda & Dilma (36) argue that once the core features of democracy are fulfilled, religion then plays an important role in the public and political life of citizens hence helps maintain a high quality of democratic rights and freedoms. Countries that do not allow religious freedom, such as in the Middle East, more often than not do not practice democracy. In the United States, citizens are free to practice their religious beliefs. For instance, the Supreme Court argued in favor of a cakeshop owner who refused to bake a cake for a gay couple as it was against the shop owner’s Christian beliefs for two men to be married (Smith & Graves).
9. Representative democracy thrives when there is political equality, an area where the United States has failed. Erman & Nasstrom (1) argue that political equality is a core feature of democracy. Political equality involves equality at the ballot box. This means that there is equality in people’s ability to be elected to public office and equality of political influence. It is important to note that most people shy away from running for office because of a lack of funds. People without huge financial backing find it hard to run campaigns and soon drop out of the race. This may distort the quality of representation as only people with a lot of money can successfully run without any financial problems. The run-up to the 2020 elections proved this as billionaire Michael Bloomberg entered the presidential race last and spent $500 million of his own money on advertisements (Allison & Niquette). This put him at an advantage over other Democratic candidates who were forced to raise funds and campaign over a long period.
10. A free, independent and pluralistic media is important for a democracy to thrive. According to Rodny-Gumede, Milton & Mano (2), the media plays an important role in building democracies. This is because it gives people a platform to voice diverse opinions. Apart from that, the media informs citizens of their rights and responsibilities, reports on the happenings around the country, and holds the government accountable to the citizens. Media coverage that is unbiased and accurate in coverage is considered a cornerstone of democracy. In the United States, media coverage is not objective. Most Americans recognize and are concerned with ideological bias in the media. According to Hassell, Holbein & Miles, many Americans believe that liberal media bias is present with 64% believing that the media favors the Democratic Party. This greatly harbors democracy from thriving.
11. Democracy in the US is under threat, especially during voting. New laws that require voters to have a photo ID to cast their votes, as well as other restrictions, have shown to deter some voters from casting their votes or even going to the polls (Grier). It is also common to find that some of the areas affected are usually strongholds of the Democratic Party. This is because they are mostly areas where there are people of color and other minority groups. This leads to the distortion of the quality of representation as the leaders elected may not be a true representation of the people’s will.
12. The partisanship exhibited by the two major parties in the US (Republican and Democratic Parties) threatens the norms of democracy. Instead of working for the interests of the American people, the parties have resulted in partisan and revenge politics (Grier). Thus, bills and laws are passed just to annoy the other party instead of trying to improve the lives of the American citizen. The parties have been accused of migrating either to the far left or to the far right of the political spectrum. Trump’s winning of the 2016 elections demonstrated the power of a political party’s backing in an election. As such, democracy would be undermined when the major political parties are not looking out for the interests of the American people.
13. Another factor that threatens democracy in the US is the “Us” versus “Them” mentality amongst the citizens. According to (Grier), the country is now divided into groups of angry, polarized voters. This results in the political parties cowering under the stress of social as well as ideological disagreements. Political parties are caving into their supporters’ extreme views to appease them instead of doing what is best for the American people. Views such as defunding the police have been floated around by democrats and their leaders knowing very well it would increase crime in the country.
14. In summary, Democracy in the United States is thriving. This is despite there being hurdles and challenges. The people and institutions in the United States adhere to the most important features that make up a democracy. The judiciary enjoys a very high level of independence from outside influence. As such, it ensures that the law, without regard to his or her social status, race, or even religion treats everyone equally. The voting process is also free, fair, and periodic. It is important to emphasize the fact that as long as the elements of democracy are upheld, then it is easy to make the case that democracy is thriving.
15. In conclusion, the US democracy is thriving as it successfully puts into practice and upholds many important aspects of its constitution that enable its citizens to live freely and as equals despite differences in race, color, or economic differences. The US upholds human rights, promotes freedom of expression, and religion holds free, fair and periodic elections, and has an independent judiciary. Also, the US promotes the rule of law and transparency and accountability of its elected officials. It is important to mention that no system of government is perfect and may face several pitfalls. As such, there exists political inequality, biased media, laws that make it hard for certain people to vote, and partisan political parties.

Works Cited

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‌ Liptak, Adam. “Supreme Court Rules Trump Cannot Block Release of Financial Records.” New York Times, 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/us/trump-taxes-supreme-court.html.

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Bishop, Sylvia, and Anke Hoeffler. “Free and Fair Elections – A New Database.” Centre for the Study of African Economies, 2014.

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Marimow, Ann. “Trump Cannot Block Critics on Twitter, Federal Court Affirms.” Washington Post, 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/trump-cannot-block-critics-on-twitter-federal-court-affirms-in-ruling/2020/03/23/83ac302c-6d0b-11ea-a3ec-70d7479d83f0_story.html.

Allison, Bill, and Mark Niquette. “Bloomberg Tops Half a Billion Dollars in Campaign Advertising.” Bloomberg, 2020, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-24/bloomberg-tops-half-a-billion-dollars-in-campaign-advertising.

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