In some nations, if you asked the people what they are most proud of about their own country, they might tell you about art, or architecture, great literary works, or the natural beauty of the land. But here in America, one of the things we are most proud of is our system of government. Being a democracy. The freedom to chose our own leaders. It’s ironic that the thing we are most proud of is not strictly true. We are not a direct democracy, in pure form, as Richard Parker points out.
We are a Republic. What is the difference? To give a silly example from every day life, say you have a group of five people and it’s lunchtime. Where will they go for lunch? Well this IS America, and we do so love our democracy, so the group will vote. Who wants to go to McDonald’s? Three hands go up. The majority rules, the group goes to McDonald’s. This is our ideal, but it is not technically the way it works in politics.
A more realistic version? Who wants to go to McDonald’s? Three hands go up. However, John is the official representative of the group, and he thinks The Tofu House is a better choice for the group. The Tofu House it is. Richard Parker suggests that it is time to reevaluate our system of indirect democracy, and move towards a system of mass participation of the people and voting directly without the discretion of a “middle-man”, such as the Electoral College, ultimately weighing in with more power than the majority’s vote. Our textbook points out, the Electoral College was created at the same time as the Constitution, and at that time, there may have been some practical reasons for creating it. There was no competent form of mass media, and therefore no way for the general public to gain information about candidates from other states.
The Essay on Circadian Rhythms Experiment Time People Three
Circadian Rhythms: Experiment Circadian Rhythms are the times of day that you get either hungry, tired, or energetic. This paper is to describe an experiment that I have thought up that will test to see if circadian rhythms differ from people who perceive themselves as night-time people and people who perceive themselves as morning people. What is your hypothesis? My hypothesis is that night-time ...
Without knowledge of any other candidates but those from their own states, it would have been very hard for any candidate to win a national majority of votes. Times have changed, and the American public is much better equip to seek out and receive information. Our Electoral College System, however, remains largely outdated. Although it is popularly understood that members of the Electoral College will vote for the candidate the majority of those they are to be representing voted for, “penalties for faithless electors are practically nonexistent, and occasionally electors have opted not to vote for the candidate to whom they were committed.” (O’Connor, Sabato, 426).
Just look at the 2000 election. Parker makes three main arguments in his article.
First, he state that mass political participation without any other considerations will be good for people and the county, in and of itself. The argument against this ideal is that “[members of the political elite] know better, and, so they and their ilk should “lead”- be the “spokesmen” or “advocates” for- ordinary people.” (Parker, 310).
This implies that ordinary people are not smart enough or do not have well enough values to make their own decisions. Parker argues for a more positive view of the American public. He believes that the public can make decisions for the good of themselves and the rest of the country, and should be given the opportunity. Parker compares participating in politics to exercising.
He states they can both be boring at times, perverse, even to some degree, painful. But in politics, just like exercise, “the gain resulting from the pain is likely all the greater.” (Parker, 312).
Will or lose, it’s good for people to participate. It promotes community involvement, self-respect, and is the best way to bring about social changes. The second issue Parker focuses on is the idea of “one person, one vote.” Parker believes the act of voting is falling out of favor with many in politics, who instead favor “a narcissistic notion of “deliberative” democracy to eclipse what they imagine as the tawdry marking of a ballot.” (Parker, 313).
The Research paper on The Electoral College States Vote People
Michael T. Moreno Research Paper: The Electoral College Pro/Con and Demetrius Caraley Aug 1. 2003 Poly Sci 312 The recent election involving Bush and Gore has heated up a fifty year old debate. The debate is about whether the Electoral College is still an effective system considering the circumstances the United States now faces compared to when it was created by the founding fathers. The ...
In an article about his perceived trend towards a parliamentary government in the United States, Gerald Pomper suggested that is it time to “turn our attention, and our support, to the continuing and emerging strengths of our political parties.” (Pomper, 374).
Pomper states, “party differences and the cohesion in Congress partially reflect the enhanced power of legislative leaders.” (Power, 368).
Parker argues that the strengthening of Congress and legislative leaders is not a positive thing. Parker further states we should start treating out elected officials with ” a somewhat exaggerated disrespect… regularly exposing the misdeeds, the incompetence, the hypocrisy of officials is not cynicism or nihilism; it is realism, the tonic of democratic lawmaking.” (Parker, 315).
He argues that voting rather than platform speeches should be the key to political participation. Not everyone can speak with the same degree of talent.
Not every voice can be heard in a speech. But every opinion can be heard in the form a vote. A tally of votes is the only way of preserving political equality. The last issue discussed in Parker’s article is the idea of removing any barriers to direct voting by the people of the issues up for debate. Parker believes the American public is so alienated from the political processes that they are not voting. He states in order to revitalize democracy, we must give people more opportunity to be directly involved.
No electoral college. Direct votes and an exact counting of all votes. “Direct democracy, lawmaking by initiative and referendum… {is} about as clear and immediate as can be.” (Parker, 315), If people feel that their own vote is important, they will be more inclined to use it. It’s impossible for me think of any argument against Parker’s ideals. Any argument I think of implies that the American public, including myself, is not capable of determining what is best for them, and I just don’t believe that is true.
The Essay on Electronic City State Democracy Problem Internet
The advance in telecommunications will not cause people to be dependent on their computers and alone in a world of billions. Rather, it will open up new avenues in democracy and will help people involve themselves more in the democratic process. Computers can simplify voting, create less biased views of world events, and encourage more political awareness. Going to the polls could be a thing of ...
Our present political system is outdated. It’s a system that breeds apathy and limits the powers of the general citizen, who should be the ultimate direct political authority. This is not really a crisis in leadership; it’s a crisis in the process. Until the process improves, there will be no marked improvement in democracy. Presently, politicians have no major incentive to become more accountable to, or directly responsible to, the citizens.
Therefore, the initiative for change will have to come from the people themselves. It will be up to each of us to understand and act in a constructive, positive way to build a more directly democratic country. Direct democracy, through a well-organized referendum process, makes sure the government is accountable, because the final authority lies with the majority of people, not with just a small minority of representatives. By definition, government of the people, for the people, and by the people means that the final power resides with the people themselves. When the people lead, the politicians follow, and with Direct Democracy the politicians pay attention. Perhaps it is time to start exercising our authority, not just by voting in another indirect election, but by creating a process which allows, and even mandates the people to directly participate knowing that the ultimate outcome is based on how they feel, not how their representative feels.
If the majority rules on McDonald’s, then that is what they shall have. Works Cited: Parker, Richard D. “Power to the Voters.” The Enduring Debate: Classic and Contemporary readings in American Politics- 3 rd Edition. Ed.
David Cannon, John Coleman, and Kenneth Mayer. New York, NY; W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2003. 309-317. Pomper, Gerald M.
The Term Paper on Executive Branch Court People Government
Democracy is a Greek word meaning "rule by the people." The idea of a democratic government began in Greece in 700 B. C, about twenty-five hundred years ago. Rome was so large that not everyone could play a role in government so the Roman citizens elected representatives to speak and act for them. This form of government was called a republic. The United States has a representative form of ...
“Parliamentary Government in the United States?” The Enduring Debate: Classic and Contemporary readings in American Politics- 3 rd Edition. Ed. David Cannon, John Coleman, and Kenneth Mayer. New York, NY; W. W.
Norton & Company, Inc, 2003. 363-374. O’connor, Karen and Larry J. Sabato.
Ed. Essentials of American Government: Continuity and Change, 2004 Edition. United States; Pearson Education, Inc, 2004. 424-426.
