Democracy Reflection
In our day to day lives, it is very easy to lose sight of the great freedoms that we have been granted here in the United States. However, recent events beg us to once again re-examine our lives to the realities of the world, to the injustices both at home and abroad. At its core, we must reflect on what it means to be a democratic citizen, and how to expand ourselves beyond merely the quadrennial presidential elections. As is so heavily emphasized in Benazir Bhutto's Islam and Democracy, elections are hardly the end-all be-all of a democracy, they are merely the base upon which it stands; and a building upon an unstable foundation is sure to collapse. Many a nation can have "democratic elections", but merely offer the illusion of actual choice by having only a single party that is acceptable to vote for otherwise facing harsh persecution. After all, Bhutto herself was elected Prime Minister, but it was merely a title, Pakistan still run by the President and the military.
But what are the fundamental building blocks of a democracy, what even is a democracy? Aristotle struggles in his piece Democracy and Oligarchy to create a solid definition for differing forms of governance, and even then he only comes up with a very generalized model that is more like basic guidelines that strict fact. A government's role is multi-faceted, and up for eternal debate, as such, defining an exactness to them is impossible. It can generally said however, that governments exist for the benefits of its people in many areas of life; and as such the creation of these principles can create goals to ultimately achieve in forming a government. Bhutto emphasizes that it is these that should be looked at when looking at western democracy, not merely cultural products such as secularism that hung so deeply in many people's heads in the Islamic nations. So, beyond merely elections, a democracy seeks to provide impartial justice, where poor or rich, farmer or warrior, young or old, are treated equally under the law. Also included are "fundamental freedoms", such as freedom of movement, to work, of expression, to be educated, to have different thoughts and beliefs, and to have access to basic amenities.
So, from examining the United States, how do we hold up? Well, if current events shows anything, not very well, even though we have so much. While I would certainly hope that we have a democratic capability that is beyond tyrannical rule, it just goes to show that even with good education, infrastructure, and creative freedom, there is still much to obtain. Merely a day after the presidential inauguration, a Women's March was held in protest across the country and around the world. Very clearly, not all are held equal under the law, and not all have the complete freedom's in all the aforementioned aspects in the current state of our society. This doesn't even touch the racial issues that have also plagued the nation perhaps most prominently in the last year. Yet, quite frankly, nobody seems to ever care about these things except around election time, or when it reaches your front door. Why is our nation so ambivalent, so seemingly apathetic to blatant injustice?
The issue is twofold and stems from one root: ignorance. As a society, we have failed to both speak out, and to listen. Socrates states: "There is only on good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance". In essence, one of the main things that divides us is our lack of understanding and empathy for one another; and with a country so diverse, how could we not? If there is one thing that this last election has shown us, is that we are divided, but that does not mean that these divisions need to fight with one another. Yes, it can be hard for a Midwestern farmer to understand the Silicon Valley tech worker, for the family business owner to understand the corporate shareholder, for the patriotic native to understand the illegal immigrant. But at its root, a fundamental disrespect for other human beings in not understanding their equivalency to you is the root of conflict. Now more than ever it is important to see another perspective, not necessarily to agree with, but to understand it. What can been seen as one person's crusade for freedom can be seen as another as an uprooting of human society and its values. What seems like dictatorial actions that bar fundamental rights may mean reestablishing order and morality to another. People that may seem like parasites that threaten your way of life may also be seen as desperate families that struggle to provide food and a future for their kids in a better world. How could a person possibly think in that way? Why can they not act this way or that way? Why is it so hard to understand? What can possibly change either of us? Yet, what is even worse is that where there is no perceived problem, it is impossible to create a solution. If we fail to see other people as human like us, we will never have a true democracy. If a government cannot serve ALL of its people, how can it ever stand?
The time to act is now. If things continue as they are now, heads will simply continue to butt against one another, hands desperately clawing for what gains they can get while tearing down their opponents achievements. As From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces states, it's going to take actual movement for things to move forward. It will taking feeling uncomfortable, attacked even. But simply ignoring or standing stagnant on the issue will never resolve it. We need to encourage safety and security, but bravery and understanding. ALL the people must be heard, ALL must be given a chance, even the rich and the beggar. The white, the black and everything in between. Those that are young, those that are old. Those that are virtuous and those that are morally detestable. By no means is it easy, it's not even hard. If it had been, it would have been done by now. Perhaps, it is in reality an impossibility. However, as long as better exists, it is something that should be striven for by all the people of the Earth.
But what are the fundamental building blocks of a democracy, what even is a democracy? Aristotle struggles in his piece Democracy and Oligarchy to create a solid definition for differing forms of governance, and even then he only comes up with a very generalized model that is more like basic guidelines that strict fact. A government's role is multi-faceted, and up for eternal debate, as such, defining an exactness to them is impossible. It can generally said however, that governments exist for the benefits of its people in many areas of life; and as such the creation of these principles can create goals to ultimately achieve in forming a government. Bhutto emphasizes that it is these that should be looked at when looking at western democracy, not merely cultural products such as secularism that hung so deeply in many people's heads in the Islamic nations. So, beyond merely elections, a democracy seeks to provide impartial justice, where poor or rich, farmer or warrior, young or old, are treated equally under the law. Also included are "fundamental freedoms", such as freedom of movement, to work, of expression, to be educated, to have different thoughts and beliefs, and to have access to basic amenities.
So, from examining the United States, how do we hold up? Well, if current events shows anything, not very well, even though we have so much. While I would certainly hope that we have a democratic capability that is beyond tyrannical rule, it just goes to show that even with good education, infrastructure, and creative freedom, there is still much to obtain. Merely a day after the presidential inauguration, a Women's March was held in protest across the country and around the world. Very clearly, not all are held equal under the law, and not all have the complete freedom's in all the aforementioned aspects in the current state of our society. This doesn't even touch the racial issues that have also plagued the nation perhaps most prominently in the last year. Yet, quite frankly, nobody seems to ever care about these things except around election time, or when it reaches your front door. Why is our nation so ambivalent, so seemingly apathetic to blatant injustice?
The issue is twofold and stems from one root: ignorance. As a society, we have failed to both speak out, and to listen. Socrates states: "There is only on good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance". In essence, one of the main things that divides us is our lack of understanding and empathy for one another; and with a country so diverse, how could we not? If there is one thing that this last election has shown us, is that we are divided, but that does not mean that these divisions need to fight with one another. Yes, it can be hard for a Midwestern farmer to understand the Silicon Valley tech worker, for the family business owner to understand the corporate shareholder, for the patriotic native to understand the illegal immigrant. But at its root, a fundamental disrespect for other human beings in not understanding their equivalency to you is the root of conflict. Now more than ever it is important to see another perspective, not necessarily to agree with, but to understand it. What can been seen as one person's crusade for freedom can be seen as another as an uprooting of human society and its values. What seems like dictatorial actions that bar fundamental rights may mean reestablishing order and morality to another. People that may seem like parasites that threaten your way of life may also be seen as desperate families that struggle to provide food and a future for their kids in a better world. How could a person possibly think in that way? Why can they not act this way or that way? Why is it so hard to understand? What can possibly change either of us? Yet, what is even worse is that where there is no perceived problem, it is impossible to create a solution. If we fail to see other people as human like us, we will never have a true democracy. If a government cannot serve ALL of its people, how can it ever stand?
The time to act is now. If things continue as they are now, heads will simply continue to butt against one another, hands desperately clawing for what gains they can get while tearing down their opponents achievements. As From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces states, it's going to take actual movement for things to move forward. It will taking feeling uncomfortable, attacked even. But simply ignoring or standing stagnant on the issue will never resolve it. We need to encourage safety and security, but bravery and understanding. ALL the people must be heard, ALL must be given a chance, even the rich and the beggar. The white, the black and everything in between. Those that are young, those that are old. Those that are virtuous and those that are morally detestable. By no means is it easy, it's not even hard. If it had been, it would have been done by now. Perhaps, it is in reality an impossibility. However, as long as better exists, it is something that should be striven for by all the people of the Earth.
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