Criteria: Must have a set of laws to abide by. The first criteria that we believe a working democracy must follow is that there has to be a set of strict laws that the government must abide by. We believe laws are necessary because there must be a way to not only keep the government in check but to also keep the people who the democracy is meant to serve in check. The Schoolhouse Rock- I'm Just a Bill video explores the creation of laws in America, our proclaimed democratic country, to give an idea of the extensive process. The video greatly represents a working democracy because numerous people work together to vote on and create the laws that govern themselves. The video goes in depth on the process of creating laws including putting them through several committees of your peers, through both the house and senate and even includes revisions of the laws. If a democracy were to fail to function it would be similar to an authoritarian government or a dictatorship in which the people have no say in their laws, whereas in a democracy the people have all the say. Democracy is only seen as functioning if the people are able to create and amend their own laws that they see as best fit.
Criteria: Majority Rules/power belongs to the people. The second criteria that a working democracy must follow is the principle of majority rules which puts the power in the hands of the people. Democracy is defined as “control of an organization or group by the majority of its members”. This democracy poster speaks volumes on the meaning of democracy and its symbols, including lady liberty and a phrase that is essential to a working democracy. "Majority Rules", the founding principle of democracy, whenever a decision needs to be made it is taken to a vote, whichever option gets more votes wins. This is both the hardest and easiest part to understanding democracy. It is the hardest in that in order for a democracy to work majority rule has to exist or else it is no longer a democracy. But it is also the easiest part because all it requires is that all major decisions be taken to a vote and eliminates power struggles because everyone has equal say. If a democracy were to be failing, and majority no longer ruled, we would find ourselves either under the rule of a dictator or several factions. Democracy isn’t democracy if it isn’t based off of the will of the majority of its citizens.
Criteria: Figurehead chosen by the people. The third criteria for a working democracy is having a figurehead leading the government or in our case a president who is elected by the people. It is necessary to have a leader that is chosen by the people through a vote to ensure the person is believed to have the most success and has the most support in the nation. Having a figurehead is imperative to democracy because we need someone to direct the nation and present decisions that we can all decide on in our best interest. They are the face of the government who takes most of the heat for what happens, giving the people the courage to make the decisions behind the scenes. President Obama had one of the largest crowds for a presidential inauguration in US history as depicted in our image, showing the enormous amount of support he had. The group gathered together not only to show their support for the newly elected but to subtly remind the president who has the real power- them. Democracy only works because of the people it governs, therefore it is all about them. A working democracy is one that brings everyone together in unity, to support one cause or another, and ultimately work together as one.
Criteria: Have your protests answered and the ability to amend the government. Our fourth criteria for a working democracy is having the ability to protest something you find to be unjust and to have your grievances answered by the government. This ties into another criteria where we believe that you should always be able to amend the government so that it answers to the people. The Declaration of Independence states that whenever any form of government becomes destructive, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. Recently with the black lives matters protests, as seen above, thousands of people are gathering together to protest unjust treatment and hope to gain recognition for their various causes. To me the ability to protest and amend the government is a key indicator of a working democracy. A democracy has to be flexible and respond directly to the people because they are the basis of the government and decide who has what power. If we look at some of the more successful dictatorships we can see that the leader has absolute power and shoots down any attempts at rebellion or protests. In order for the democracy to work it has to listen to the people, work with them, and be capable enough to make lasting changes.
Criteria: Must protect individual rights. The fifth criteria found in a working democracy is that the government must implement measures and act to protect the rights of the individual. Democracies are made from a collection of individuals who vote as individuals to make collective decisions, hence the importance of acting for the individual. The Bill of Rights is a perfect example of how the United states government protects the people and is still able to work as a cohesive unit. These rights give protections to the everyday citizen, that are necessary during times of peace and when we are at war. More importantly however is the addition of the bill of rights, the democracy was failing until the people pushed for more protection and the first ten amendments, which make up the bill of rights, were added. Note that of the 27 amendments to the constitution since 1789 ten were set aside to protect the individual, and our democracy hasn’t failed yet! Failing democracies often reduce individuals to nothing or put their wants in the back seat which diminishes the power of the individual and the basis of democracy itself. The people make up the democracy and the individual impacts it in many unique ways, to make sure the democracy works we have to assist the individual.
Criteria: Equality inside the government. A series of checks and balances is of great importance to any functioning democracy. The power is separated into three branches of power and each branch has power over the other. This forces the branches to work together towards a common goal, instead of pushing each and every political agenda at hand. While at times these checks may seem to be unused when two branches have the same views and would appreciate if a law was passed that would favor each group's political group. Checks and balances create an equal system of government that takes the power away from one person and distributes it to the larger group of elected officials. Checks and balances keep a country's government working and on the right track to success. Without these checks and balances, the government of the United states wouldn't need congress or the judicial branch, all that would be needed is the President of the United States whose role would be edging closer to dictator rather than a president. As the criteria states, equality is necessary in each and every democracy it keeps everyone and every group in check and balances out the power in between the three groups in order to protect the individual citizens who voted these officials in.
Criteria: elections create an equal playing field. This image shows the effect of western democracy in foreign countries. The overbearing nature of the United States causes conflict in the countries we deploy to. The United States shows the ideals of working democracy, yet these concepts aren’t reflected in other countries. The United States pushes their western ideals in countries that have been ruled by a military oriented Dictator. Democracy can be a seen as overbearing yet these western points of view free the citizens of these nations. Democracy is based on freedom and on how the country decides on who should be their leader rather than having no elections or rigged elections, democracies have open and equal elections. Electing officials is a cornerstone of American ideals and having the entire nation decide the fate of who will lead them is what we want for others. Elections meet the criteria based on the freedom it gives each and every citizen, to cast their vote on candidates vying for control of power. In the photo, there is an American flag that has pictures of those running for the place of President of the United States, and the hatred towards these candidates from members of the public. The upside down flag symbolizes the state of disarray will be if we elect either of the 2 candidates.
Criteria: Government must be honest with its citizens. Transparency among the government and its Citizens as seen in the picture above Franklin Delano Roosevelt believed it was important to inform the country of the daily events occurring overseas in the European theater of war and the pacific theater. FDR used these “Fireside Chats” to update the American people, yet it also showed that the President of the United States was approachable or seemed to be approachable to the everyday man. This idea of complete transparency shows how Roosevelt wanted to be perceived by those who voted him in in order to show that he was just a man who had common qualities with the average citizen. These qualities are key in any leader and in any government especially in a working democracy, because those who voted that person in need to be able to trust that they are following up on what the promised during the election. This is vital to the overall function of a government because, in the end, the citizen wants to trust the government and president, but without honesty, all is lost. Once voted into power there is the possibility of pushing the parties agenda instead of keeping promises made that were potentially the sole reason said official was elected, in order to keep an eye per say on the president or elected official it is extremely important that they hold daily press conferences to update the citizens of the nation. Communication from the highest in the government to the lowest citizen is what democracy is originally based on, the people vote the official into power and the official is honest with the citizens of the nation and attempts to keep all promises of change made during the election