Difference between revisions of "US Gov More Democratic"

Revision as of 23:56, 30 April 2009

AP US Gov Essay

American politics have become more democratic in the last 200 years. When people are confronted with an issue that interests them, they will bring their voices to the table. Our history is filled with examples of people raising their voices for change. Many more people are allowed to vote now compared to before. People can make their voices heard in ways other than directly voting. Interest groups are formed to spread the wills of their members. The government has also expanded so much over the last 200 years that there is much more for people to have an input in.

Government does so much today, that no one observer can begin to cover it all, even if it was their full time job. There are so many opportunities for public comment, that no one can be involved in all of the ones that affect them. For the people that work, an issue must be important to them that it merits their attention. An ongoing, local example is the proposal to install a few billboards in Haverford Township. This proposal is motivating many people to show up to public hearings to voice their opinion against the billboards. The Haverford Civic Association is informing its members about the proposal. It is true that large numbers of people do not normally show up for a Board of Commissioners meeting. However this meeting had to be moved twice to accommodate the expected crowd. This is democracy in action. Interest groups, the news media, and occasionally grassroots efforts, filter the process of democracy and mobilize the troops when an issue is important.

Our collective memories include successful examples of public protesting at work. The Boston Tea Party was recently echoed in protests on Tax Day. Protestors ultimately succeeded in ending the Vietnam War. The New Deal Coalition brought together many different groups to usher in a new philosophy about government. The Reagan Revolution of “the silent majority” changed the balance of power for a few decades. While these movements may have been planned by some elitist, the people ultimately identified with them and joined them. Large changes in politics require a lot of people. Many of these events have actually occurred recently, indicating that democracy is becoming democratic.

Democracy has also expanded over time. (timeline: race, gender, etc)

Remember that voting is not the only way that people can bring about change. By protesting, and creating uproar, elected officials do hear our voices and follow through. This is actually much faster than waiting for an election to change things. Officials know to listen to public pressure, or they will be voted out at the next election. The recent AIG bonus scuffle is a good example of this. Many tax payers became extremely angry that AIG, a company that had received “bailout” money had given bonuses to the executives who ran the company into the ground.

Congressman and woman became bringing in AIG executives to hearings on Capital Hill to forward their constituent’s outrage. The people did not directly vote on the bailout; but their voices were heard loud and clear anyway.

Interest Groups represent people’s views (notes from class, textbook)

Also, it is hard for anyone to say that democratic participation in the government is decreasing after witnessing the Obama election. Politicio reported that 130 million people turned out for the 2008 election. This is the most ever to vote in a US presidential election and it represents 64% of the electorate. It beat the previous record in 2004 which was 122.3 million voters. Exit polls showed that whites decreased in percentage of the electorate, while minorities and youths gained. This is conclusive proof that American politics are becoming more democratic than ever. Now-President Obama managed to capture the hearts and minds of many people previous apathetic about politics. It also helped that the key issue in the election was something very relevant and important to people, the economy.

This connects with the first point; people will become involved if it is worth their time. If they feel like the issue is significant enough to them, they will make their voices heard. There are just so many opportunities for people to give input to the government, that many are not significantly covered. People will use interest groups to help advance their beliefs. Our system now allows more people than ever before to be allowed to vote. When something interests them, they will do it.