Essay Example on US: A Superpower Promoting Global Democracy

Introduction

The United States of America is one of the superpowers in the world today. This is most notable for its advanced democracy. After the end of the Cold War, the US government was determined to promote the international spread for democracy which was meant to replace containment as the major principle of the US foreign policy. Scholars and policymakers supported the idea that democratization could become the next mission for America. Although there are major factors that have contributed to the growth of democracy in the US, racial equality and civil rights cases stand among the most essential factors. Racial equality and civil rights cases have led to the advancement of democracy in the US to a great extent.

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Racial Equality

Racial equality is a key factor in the advancement of democracy. Democracy involves the rules that are made by the people to govern themselves. As such, every group must be represented and the views of the group taken into consideration. When this is not done, there is a likelihood of conflicts arising. Racial equality means that the views all the people have been integrated into the formation of the government. The US is a nation that consists of various races whose views need to be considered in the making of policies to govern the country.

Traditionally, America's elections used to be conducted in terms of race and the minority could not get elected to any competitive position. As such, leadership was not determined by the intellect or character of a person but by the color of their skin. Such a period proved difficult for minorities such as the African-Americans and the Hispanics to lead in any elective position. However, recent times have seen improved democracy where elections are based not on the color of a person but by their ability to lead irrespective of the race that they belong to. Whites are freer than before to vote blacks in elective positions just like blacks are. In recent times, the US has witnessed its pinnacle of democracy by voting in a black president for two terms. The election and subsequent reelection of Barack Obama is a true reflection of the level that the US democracy has grown to (Patterson, 2012). Such a move showed that blacks have been wholly accepted into the public sphere of American life. Blacks are now regarded as vital instruments in the building and formation of the social, political and economic life of the US.

The promise of America is that every person gets an equal say in democracy as well as have an equal chance in the building of the economy. This is the ideal that was enshrined in the American Dream. The founders of America knew that if America was to remain a superpower, then it had to do a lot in building the racial gaps of its people. Democracy requires a situation where everyone is given equal rights and privileges to make decisions and even when their decisions do not win, they feel obligated to respect the decisions of those that won. This is the spirit of a mature democracy. When all the races feel represented and respected, there is the likelihood of working together to support the development of the nation.

Racial equality has led to reduced segregation among different races in America. In the olden days when America's democracy was still young, segregation seemed like a norm as most blacks experienced intense segregation. Issacharoff (2018) stated that the whites occupied places of affluence and considered themselves more important than the other groups. Such kind of a notion was a major drawback towards the democratization of America. However, with more and more people coming to the knowledge that segregation kept on pulling them back, there have been major improvements in America regarding the respect bestowed upon different people. The end of segregation has advanced America's economy to a great extent.

Civil Rights Cases

Civil rights cases mainly involve instances where human rights have been violated. Violation of human rights by the government is an indicator of an immature democracy. Human rights laws are made to protect the citizens. When the politicians decide to ignore civil rights, then they become a reflection of a failed democracy. In this sense, the politicians can do whatever they want when they are elected including tormenting their competitors. In an advanced democracy, civil rights groups have been at the forefront in seeking to safeguard human rights.

In the recent past, America has seen a rise of various civil human groups which have taken cases to court in a bid to protect human rights. The nature of democracy is that the majority have their way. However, the notion of the winner taking it all may breed violence. If a political party only needs to rely on the majority to get power, it may end up ignoring the minority (Dennis, 2019). In such situations, civil rights groups have been used to prevent the majority from oppressing the minorities by giving everyone legal rights that those who are elected cannot disregard. Human rights are important for the functioning of democracy as they ensure that nobody has been left behind even if they have little voice (Wolff, 2015). For example, in the US, whether the Democrats or Republicans win the majority seats does not matter a lot as those who are elected are supposed to serve all the people equally and without any form of discrimination.

Civil rights groups have been great champions of tolerance among the different sects. Tolerance means that all the views and actions of a particular person or a group of people should be tolerated as long as they do not harm others. It is also to be noted that harm does not have to be physical only. It can either be emotional, psychological or physical. Civil rights groups follow Aristotle's view of tolerance as the pursuit of truth (Lynn & Watson, 2019). Where there is tolerance, people are able to see the value of others in their lives. As such, this entails being able to value a person's perspective or truth or humbling oneself to the level that one is able to acknowledge his or her fallibility or limitations. The ability to accept each other and treat them responsibly is an indication of advanced democracy. Due to the fight aided by the civil rights groups, the US judiciary has made several rulings which have been very pivotal in advancing the gospel of respect for human rights. This is an indicator that the US government is advancing its democracy.

The determination of civil rights cases has been a key factor for the advancement of democracy in the US. Some of the major steps that have been achieved include the abolition of laws of primogeniture, the separation of church and state, the amendments of the constitution following the Civil War, the 19th Amendment of the constitution that offered the franchise to women and the 26th Amendment of the Constitution that changed the voting age to 18 years (Andrias, 2019). The lowering of the voting age meant that many young people could be involved in major decision-making policies of the state. With the youth being the majority in terms of population, their voice is very critical in determining who will lead the people.

The 19th Amendment gave more rights to women which made them be able to participate in the nation-building process. It is to be noted that prior to this, women could not be involved in any meaningful program in the US (Mccallum, 2017). Many of the decisions were made by men and this detrimental to the progress of women. Today, women have as equal rights as men in determining the direction that the US government should take.

Conclusion

The US has taken great strides to advance its democracy. Although there are many factors that have led to the advancement of technology, some that have been very key in this process are racial equality and civil rights cases. The US government has reached a point of accepting all the different races living in the country and given to each of the equal rights and privileges. Besides, a majority of civil rights cases have been key in advancing the democracy of the US.

References

Andrias, K. (2019). An American Approach to Social Democracy: The Forgotten Promise of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Yale Law Journal, 128(3), 616-709. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=134459434&site=ehost-live

Brooks, T. (2009). A Critique of Pragmatism and Deliberative Democracy. Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, 45(1), 50-54. doi:10.2979/tra.2009.45.1.50

Dennis, M. (2019). From the Masses to the Mainstream: The Hollywood Left and the Movement for Social Democracy. Historian, 81(2), 235-259. https://doi.org/10.1111/hisn.13133

Issacharoff, S. (2018). Democracy's Deficits. The University of Chicago Law Review, 85(2), 485-520. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/26455915

Lynn, J. A., & Watson, H. L. (2019). Introduction: Race, Politics, and Culture in the Age of Jacksonian "Democracy." Journal of the Early Republic, 39(1), 81-87. https://doi.org/10.1353/jer.2019.0006

Mccallum, J. (2017). U.S. Censorship, Violence, and Moral Judgement in a Wartime Democracy, 1941-1945. Diplomatic History, 41(3), 543-566. https://doi.org/10.1093/dh/dhw058

Patterson, E. (2012). Obama and Sustainable Democracy Promotion. International Studies Perspectives, 13(1), 26-42. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44218677

Wolff, J. (2015). Power in Democracy Promotion. Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, 40(3/4), 219-236. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24569459