Let's put democracy on the national agenda. Describe it. Praise it. Fix it. Change it. Personalize it. Be part of it.
This is my example of how democracy works... As I was reading my email, I occasionally glanced back at the movie my teenage daughter was watching on t.v. It was a warm and fuzzy story of how Americans had to overcome their predjudices and welcome a Muslim family to the neighborhood. It was very idealistic and politically correct. I recovered from my cynicism and told my daughter that the real story was that here: in a country which is at war with Muslim terrorism, we would show stories about the importance of being tolerant the co-religionists of those we are at war with. This shows what an incredible and tolerant people and country we are. Only in America!
Steve Harvith, Gaithersburg, MD
This is my example of how democracy works... Conceptually, democracy today is the collective will of one-man one-vote that subsumes notwithstanding merit a person capable and willing to exercise critical thought associated with the issues of the day couched between yesterday and tomorrow. But the Founding Fathers of 1787 had something altogether in mind when it was decided during the Annapolis Convention of 1786 to convene in Philadelphia a National Convention to address the inadequacies inherent with the Articles of Confederation, namely that each state was listed as free and sovereign nations, a consequence of England's recognition as stipulated in the Treaty of Paris 1883. The improvement they sought was not more democracy instead it was a structural arrangement amongst the states that would be of benefit to the people by incorporating democratic, aristocratic, monarchial, and oligarchic principles of governance hence their reference to the United States before, during, and after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution as a republican nation (i.e. General George Washington as President was often referred to as the Republican King albeit a Federalist.).
That structure, the U.S. Constitution, was meant to frame the delicate balance between federalists and anti-federalists. Nothing has changed in essence since then; that dichotomy still exists though the former has ruthlessly held sway through divisive democratization by expanding franchise thus diminishing the reciprocal value of the vote to further ensure greater dependence on thus justification for the federalists-today's Democrats & Republicans and from which any ancillary parties that may manifest. In time, if not already, that circular relationship between dependence and justification will lead to despotism (i.e. fascism, totalitarianism, etc.) as Benjamin Franklin said it would, "…as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other." Moreover and finally, when the thirteen colonies were still a part of England, Professor Alexander Tyler wrote about the fall of the Athenian republic based on which the United States has arguably modeled:
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage."
Anthony Pierce, Lynchburg, VA
What I have done to be a better citizen... What I have done to be a better citizen is to remind myself regularly that I have an obligation as a participating member of a democracy not just to vote, but to make an informed vote. I recognize that I don't get to choose whether or not I'm going to participate in the political process. I just get to choose whether or not I'm and active or passive participant.
Stan Marsh, Ann Arbor, MI
The one thing I would do to strengthen our democracy...
I think we need to overhaul the democratic process as it is understood all over the world to deal with three critical issues:
1. Allow citizens to have more direct control of how decisions affecting them are made.
2. Have a system that "forces" people to participate.
3. Remove power of special interests by making campaign
spending less of a factor in how elections are decided.
All these goals can be met if we adopt a pyramidal structure of democracy. The idea of drawing electoral districts on the map is an outdated idea - the gerrymandering in Texas has already shown us what a joke that is. We should simply allow/require people to form their own caucuses. Any group of 100 people living within a 25 mile radius can form a caucus. That will be the lowest level of the pyramid. Each caucus will elect one representative to the next level of the pyramid. Each caucus is free to choose its own rep in any manner it likes. A 100 caucus reps (call that a cohort?) form the representative bodies at the next level, which in-turn sends 2 or 3 reps to the next higher level. This third level will be representing 300,000 level, and so most states will not need more than 4 levels. The caucuses may meet only once a year, the cohorts perhaps once a month etc. This would give people a direct voice since each rep will have to report back to his/her constituents at the lower level. There will be very little need for large scale campaign funding, since no electoral body will consist of more than a 100 people. If people dont join a caucus, they will automatically have no say, and therefore will find themselves either forced to join, or get left out.
Sarnath Ramnath, St Cloud, MN
The one thing I would do to strengthen our democracy... Strengthen the study of civics and American history/American government in our K-12 schools. Too many kids are coming up through the public schools not knowing how our democracy works, what their place in it is, what their potential roles are (voter, candidate, activist, organizer, fund-raiser, etc.). How can people participate if they don't know how to participate? One big way we could improve civics education is through increased service learning. Get kids involved in the democratic process at a young age--assisting at polling places, helping adults get registered, organizing a debate for local candidates — with whatever is appropriate for their age and skills. We need to demystify the process, make it familiar and friendly, and make it make sense!
Susan Wetenkamp, Minneapolis, MN
The one thing I would do to strengthen our democracy... The single most signficant change necessary to improve our democracy is to forbid corporations or businesses of any kind from donating money to candidates or incumbents. additoinally, caps for donations on private citizens must be put into place. No one in their right mind would argue that i as a private citizen have the same voice or influence as a corporation which donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to both main political parties in every election. the democratic principle of equal representation has been completely bastardized in this century.
Bryan Villmer, St. Louis, MO
The one thing I would do to strengthen our democracy... Inform everyone that the United States of America is a constitutionally limited republic. Not a Democracy! A true democracy is nothing more than mob rule, with no protections for individuals or the views of the politically minorities.
Jym Brittain, Keego Harbor, MI
The one thing I would do to strengthen our democracy... I believe the key challenge to any non-authoritarian system of governance, be it democratic, (true) communist, or otherwise, is developing and maintaining a concern for the greater good of the nation among the populace. Such a concern was present at the founding of the United States, but in recent times it has been fading, losing ground to a "what's in it for me?" attitude to everything, especially politics. A concern for national well-being is difficult to establish, and it is fragile. The genesis properties of the nation itself are critical to its establishment, and the fate of those who sacrifice for the good of the nation under the system of laws and regulations it establishes is critical to its survival. It is in the latter category that I fear the U.S. is slipping: we have, increasingly, over time, put into place a system of laws that rewards the selfish and unduly penalizes those who try to do the right thing. As a result (as happened much more quickly in most communist experiments), people have experienced a Darwinian push to "me first" thinking. The rich and powerful control our democracy now, and we are on a spiral into oblivion as they become more and more powerful by putting themselves first. We are on a fast track to a re-enactment of the fall of the Roman Empire, and it is only by resurrecting a concern for the greater good and revising our system of laws to minimize the penalty imposed upon those who sacrifice for the greater good that we can stave off that fate. Why we can't manage this is beyond me. We still each get one vote, and if money controls politics in this nation it is because we are willing to sell our vote to the highest bidder rather than think for ourselves and the greater good. I feel the electoral college only exacerbates this.
Robert Rossi, Minneapolis, MN
The one thing I would do to strengthen our democracy... Make citizenship the central organizing force to schooling. Though often stated as such, often other reasons guide what we do with our young people. It is not okay to teach students that the reason they ought to learn and achieve is to get a good job and make money. Advertising does teaches this to them everywhere they turn. Rather, people need to feel that they are validated as contributors to something bigger than themselves. Then, they will have purpose and meaning in their lives. and will likely create excellence. Excellent work radiates to others, as does poor work (see Enron, etc.). Thus, the bedrock of education must be laden with respect, integrity, responsibility, honesty...all principles of the office of citizen, which is (ought to be) the highest in the land.
Tim Anderson, Edina, MN
The one thing I would do to strengthen our democracy... As long as voter turnout remains at pathetically low levels, our democratic process will remain in the control of special interest groups who effectively galvanize small groups of activists to the polls to support their favored candidates and issues. Improving voter participation across increasingly diverse segments of our community will improve legislative and administrative response to a broader spectrum of community needs, not just those of the special interests. Turning out more folks at the polls for local and national elections can't help but improve the quality of our democracy by reducing the concentrated power the well-financed special interest wield, sometimes to the disadvantage of the larger community. NPR listeners have a higher poll participation than non-listeners. NPR listeners need to recruit non-listeners to both their local NPR affiliates, and to the polls!
Arthur Parks, Kansas City, MO
The one thing I would do to strengthen our democracy... Whose democracy is it? The fact is that non-citizens routinely vote in U.S. elections. Proof of citizenship is not a requirement to vote in most states. This is especially true in Minnesota. When I was an Election Judge I discovered that registering to vote, especially same day registration, didn't require proof of U.S. citizenship. A drivers license and your utility bills for the past two months is enough to allow you to vote. This proves residency but not citizenship. Drivers Licenses and other forms of ID are easily gotten by non-citizens, be they legal or illegal residents. Furthermore a friend or relative may "vouch" for you at the polling place so who is to say if that friend or relative is truthful? Our lack of enforcement of immigration laws and the widespread tendency to silence anybody who wants to discuss immigration issues with name-calling means that non-citizens sometimes feel our laws are not to be taken seriously. Factually we do not follow up on who registers to vote. Yes there are severe punishments for illegal voting but this is of little consequence since there is little or no monitoring of citizenship and very few violators are caught. The taboo relating to immigration topics keeps this a hidden issue which is accepted because our media and our own government respect neither our immigration laws nor our voting laws. "Whose vote counts?" Anybody who can get to our shores. But you will not hear this topic on MPR because other agendas preempt our laws regarding immigration and citizenship voting. To hide non-citizen voting is more than disrespect, it is a threat to true democracy. To ask questions about this means you are labeled as the worst kind of citizens...one with the courage to risk public slander and who values laws over politically correct dogma.
John Silvis, Cottage Grove, MN
The one thing I would do to strengthen our democracy... I write today of democracy: how to strengthen it, what I've done and an example of how democracy works. I was inspired to write as I caught the tail end of Talk of the Nation [10/31/03] when you announced that a reading list of books were being sought for a democracy as we dream it. My choice is "The Kingdom of God is Within You" by Russia's greatest writer, Leo Tolstoy. Written in 1894, this one book so influenced Mahatma Gandhi that in 1906, 12 years after reading it, Gandhi set out to develop his principles of nonviolent resistance to evil which eventually led to the demise of the British Empire in India and its promise of freedom through parliamentary democracy. Tolstoy, in later writings, warned the Indian revolutionaries against the adoption of the West's terrorist methods of agitation and encouraged them to continue with their native traditions of nonviolence.
What is Tolstoy's central message? It is nonresistance to evil. He accuses the Church teachings of being opposed to Christ's commands as expressed in the Sermon on the Mount on nonresistance to evil by force. Perhaps the most important question posited to the Christian by Tolstoy, himself devout, is: can the Christian, "by taking his share of service in the army, prepare himself to murder men, and even actually murder them?" A decision he concludes, that can only be found in the divine principle dwelling within us all. How can morality be taught alongside the doctrine of murder? The answer is it cannot. Without the emphasis of the law of love, the only law that will continue to rule for years to come is might makes right. Tolstoy adds, "What sort of ethical doctrine could admit the legitimacy of murder for any object whatever? It is as impossible as a theory of mathematics admitting that two is equal to three. There may be semblance of mathematics admitting that two is equal to three, but there can be no real science of mathematics. And there can only be a semblance of ethics in which murder in the shape of war and the execution of criminals is allowed, but no true ethics. The recognition of the life of every man as sacred is the first and only basis of all ethics."
Imagine what democracy could be if we emancipate ourselves from the animal impulse and grow in divine consciousness. I truly believe that George Galloway, recently kicked out of Britain's Labour Party for expressing anti-war sentiments and the Department of Peace being proposed by U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich as a means to mediate conflict before rushing to war, are signs that even the West sense the change occurring to a inherently loving race. The ideal is to love the enemies who hate us, not destroy them. When the State imposes its violence on others, it only encourages retaliation and malevolence. The aggression exerted by this current administration on foreign countries for whatever reason, may lead one to think we can no longer strive for what consciously we all know to be true: love of neighbor as oneself. But we can speak well of those our government drums into us as our "enemies". We can and should make no difference between them and our neighbors. It is time to reconsider our Department of Defense, the Pentagon and the military authority of the State. A true democracy would allocate the amount of money spent for defense equitably with the other pressing social needs of a society. The method for prioritizing the funding that the military receives should be transformed toward a more just system of redistribution. And a reduction in the number of troops —which I believe should be lessened to one percent of the current level— would best serve the country by immediately withdrawing 99% of the forces from combat training and enlisting them in leaderships programs that instruct on peaceful strategies for consensus building and coexistence, disarmament, social, economic and political justice and democratic values.
Our country and democracy can survive without the strongest military in the world. The largest democracy in the world, India, is proof of that. But can we survive with a doctrine that promotes murder toward its own civilians and those abroad without a conscience of nonviolent resistance to evil by force? Can democracy survive without global citizenship when our leaders are blinded by the colors of a flag that divides the rest of the world? Can we truly espouse democratic principles without a basic income and living wage for all people? And can we survive in a democracy if we are afraid to re-appropriate the resources toward equality and freedom, especially in regard to our media? An example of what I've done about democracy is my participation in what you've just read. I'll leave the example of how it works open to interpretation.James Johnson, Windsor, California
The one thing I would do to strengthen our democracy... If I could do one (pretty basic) thing, it would be to strengthen our youth's knowledge (high school age or younger) of government from local/town government, to state and federal government. Educating them in greater detail about our government how its (suppose to) work. For example, the impact that local government has on the town they live in. What is the Mayor's job, town council, school board etc. What influence does these elected officials have on their community. Similar education process of State and Federal government. Preparing and education them before their 18th birthday will help excite them about their right/privilege to vote. A better informed and educated youth makes for a better future for all Americans!
Jeannine Cox, Montclair, NJ
Major funding for Whose Democracy Is It? is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.