mcm1610 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 My professor today finished my last class today with a simple question that has been sitting in my brain since he presented it around 10am today. The class is recent US history, and today's lecture, being the last, was post-9/11, just for a bit of setting in case anyone was wondering. The question he asked, and he didn't answer it, was if we thought the United States was still a functioning democracy or not. Is there a disconnect between the government and the true desires of the nation? On the no side: -There's numerous issues where the general population overwhelmingly wants one thing, yet official stance is not that thing. The war in Iraq, for one, has something like 68% of people wanting troops home in the next two years but there's no evidence this is happening. Universal health care, at least in some form, is another overwhelmingly supported idea that hasn't come close quite yet. If these things (and others) are what the nation wants, why don't we have them? On the yes side: -The organization of government was designed with checks that would deliberately lag behind public opinion. This was sort of a way to stay "middle of the road" so-to-speak, so that a flash of public sentiment would not put a law on the books that we'd later regret (a la Prohibition... sometimes things squeak through anyway). So we do not have the above things because government has been deliberating on those issues and giving them time to really sink in before they get passed. These are basic thoughts from my brain, but I was curious to see what you guys thought. I'm not asking for a super-intelligent debate (but actually anticipate this sliding off the front page pretty quickly). So.. any input? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgoodcore Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 I think our democracy is bad at this moment but I think it'll swing back the other way soon. Sometimes I feel like our democracy has degenerated to an oligarchy. That all said, the people are as much to blame as they do not take an active role in voting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmonaut Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Another argument for "no": The increased power of giant corporations has subverted the principles of democracy to a degree. The constitutional framers did not take into account the disproportionate influence of corporations, who now control a lot of the political discourse of this country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicker Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 a true democracy has never existed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcm1610 Posted April 29, 2008 Author Share Posted April 29, 2008 a true democracy has never existed.It was never really inteded to, though. Representative Democracy was all we were really promised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgoodcore Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 a true democracy has never existed.It was never really inteded to, though. Representative Democracy was all we were really promised. Agreed. We've got a the framework for a representative democracy. A "true" democracy can only exist with a small number of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xfedaykinx Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 we are a dysfunctional republic at best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andywax Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Actually, we're a Constitutional Democracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xfedaykinx Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 to be most technical we are a constitutional federated republic. we are not, nor have we ever been, a real democracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgoodcore Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 This pretty much seems to be what the USA is: Representative Democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of popular sovereignty by the people's representatives.[1] The representatives form an independent ruling body (for an election period) charged with the responsibility of acting in the people's interest, but not as their proxy representatives—i.e., not necessarily always according to their wishes, but with enough authority to exercise swift and resolute initiative in the face of changing circumstances. It is often contrasted with direct democracy, where representatives are absent or are limited in power as proxy representatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xfedaykinx Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 a representative democracy is a type of republic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgoodcore Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Well yeah but rep. democracy is a more specific type of republic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drunkenthird Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 its always fun to read on the actual intentions of our founding fathers in relation to the system we have today. and in response to democracy never existing, there will always be "kings"; king of a country, king of the office, king of the local hardcore show, etc. Its in our nature as human beings to have someone show us how its "suppose" to be done. Its also stated in our major religious texts and older mythological texts that certain systems that last for a period of time begin to lose its luster and therefore must be destroyed to begin again. If we notice shit is going done, we have to build up a counter to it and change it back. simple but damn it takes time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirbypuckett Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Let's ask Axl Rose what he thinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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