How to Improve Democracy in America - Research Paper

Introduction

Democracy refers to the processes whereby citizens exercise their power through voting. In the United States of America, respect for human rights and democracy have long been central when it comes to governing institutions. Supporting or advancing democracy promotes fundamental American values such as worker's rights, religious freedom, and general human rights. In addition, enhancing democracy also helps in creating a more stable, secure, and prosperous global platform where the United States and other nations can display their national interest and policies (Mittal & Weingast, 2011). Democracy is important especially in the modern system where there is the protection of human rights. In the countries where there is advanced democratic space, governments and the policymakers are more likely to deter aggression, secure peace, increase open markets, protect their citizens, promote economic development, and combat international crimes and terrorism. In addition, these countries are also able to control the humanitarian crisis and protect human health. Building a democratic space has always proved to be a challenging process for many nations especially the third world and the developing countries across the globe. The processes of advancing democracy are often impacted by several factors. Some of the factors that impact the advancement of democracy in the United States of America include racial equality, constitution, and the role of media and political socialization.

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Racial Equality

Advancement in a democracy requires racial equality; whereby there are equal opportunities for all races. In many cases, the United States of America, being a multi-racial society, is always on the verge of ensuring that there is an equal distribution of resources to all races. Democracy is a rule by the people and as a result, there is the need for everyone to take part in governing the country, through giving equal chances to the all the people who are regarded as citizens, people become empowered to take part in the political, electoral, social and economic processes that are the key components of democracy (Diamond, 2016). Racial equality is an essential element to the process of achieving democratic society; it can be achieved when institutions provide equal opportunities to every individual from all races. In other words, government institutions need to ignore an individual's skin color or physical traits and give everyone morally, legally, as well as the politically equal opportunity. Currently, in the United States, there is more diversity, as well as more integration among races; this, therefore, makes the country to be regarded as an advanced democratic nation across the world. Following the above scenario, for a country to be considered democratic, there is the need to integrate races and achieve racial equality. In many other developing countries, achieving democracy has been a challenge due to racial inequality, in these countries, people cannot collectively take part in the democratic processes, in other words, there are races that are considered inferior and as a result, they cannot be allowed to make decisions that are of national importance. To achieve an advanced democratic space, the governments of the United States have been in a constant struggle to integrate races and to make them feel as one people and one nation, this, they believed would facilitate the process of achieving democracy. Succinctly, in America, racial equality has become a law that regardless of the race an individual is coming from, they are entitled to equal opportunities, treatment, education, politics and employment, this has facilitated the achievement of democracy that has made American to be seen as an advanced democratic nation.

Constitution

The constitution is one of the greatest factors that impact the advancement of democracy in the United States of America. American constitution promotes the advancement of democracy in different spheres; it is made up of fundamental rules that outline the roles of the citizens and their powers. The constitution also gives people the right to participate in the processes that enhance governance, electoral processes, social participation, and economic participation. The constitution is the cornerstone of democracy in the United States because it protects the rights of everyone to participate in democratic processes. In many cases, the American constitution underlines the principles of democracy, additionally, it contains the bills of rights. Advancement of democracy begins with the constitution-making processes. Advancement of democracy requires adherence to the constitutions as it contains the fundamental practices that may facilitate equal participation. Democracy involves the separation of powers and the legal systems that facilitates the enjoyment of individual rights and freedom, social, civic, cultural and political advancement; all these processes geared towards democratic processes. Democracy is pegged on freedom, equity, accountability, and participation in the decision-making processes, promotion of the inclusion of the vulnerable populations or sectors of the society; these democratic requirements are stated in the American constitution, in addition, there is an elaboration of how they can be achieved. They are also protected by the law. The American constitution has gone through several amendments to ensure that it is in line with the democratic requirements.

American constitution promotes a culture of democratic governance that goes beyond the ordinary procedures of democracy to the creation of democratic institutions (Diamond, 2016). The constitution revolves around promoting the sustainability of democratic processes which involves the enduring capacity independence of the branches of government and the separation of powers. America has been able to achieve its democracy through following the constitution which facilitates the exercise of power in accordance with the rule of law, transparency, and accountability. A country which identifies with the culture of democratic governance is the one which allows a wide scope of political participation and allowing the pluralistic system. Most of the American institutions rely on the constitution to make decisions that are of national importance. In some cases, democracy refers to the "rule of the majority." In the democratic societies, there is always uncertainty in the outcomes of social events such as elections, a situation that makes all the forces to struggle repeatedly to ensure the realization of the anticipated interests, this is, however, pegged on the constitution. Democracy involves the devolution of power from single individuals to the entire public, the rules and regulations in the democratic societies are often set based on public interests.

The Role of Media and Political Socialization

Media and political socialization contribute immensely to the advancement of democracy in the United States, in most cases, democracy requires that the institutions that serve the citizens should be controlled, and in other words, there is the need of checks and balances to the governmental institutions. Strong democratic nations such as the United States embrace criticism and disapproval of ideas raised by the government or other institutions that serve people (Auger, 2013). Succinctly, media and the political socialization has played greater roles in enhancing criticism and disapproval of ideas. Therefore, the role played by the media in the United States has enabled the country to achieve advanced democratic status. In the United States, media continues to play a significant role in promoting democracy and the rule of law. Through the freedom of expression, it has taken major steps towards delivering messages to the people without being intimidated or oppressed by the authorities. Through sharing of information on different developments, the media has been able to increase criticism, it has provided the platform for people to air their view, to speak their mind and to express themselves on issues that are of national importance (Auger, 2013). In a democratic nation such as the United States, freedom of speech and expression has mainly been facilitated by the media, a situation that has led to the advancement of democracy. A democratic nation often allow its citizens to obtain information and criticize the development issues, promote good governance and law. In the United States, media remains to be the promoter of citizens in taking part in different social, political and economic issues of the nation (Auger, 2013). Different media houses continue to stress on the freedom of the press which enhances the achievement of democracy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, constitution, racial equality, media, and political socialization play significant roles in the advancement of democracy in the United States of America. Supporting or advancing democracy promotes fundamental American values such as worker's rights, religious freedom, and general human rights. Democracy is a rule by the people and as a result, there is the need for everyone to take part in governing the country, through giving equal chances to the all the people who are regarded as citizens, people become empowered to take part in the political, electoral, social and economic processes that are the key components of democracy. According to the United States Constitution, judges have the power to rule or deem some laws unconstitutional. In most cases, the laws or regulations may be ratified by the legislature and approved by the president, but still, judges have the powers to make these laws unconstitutional. The constitution revolves around promoting the sustainability of democratic processes which involves the enduring capacity independence of the branches of government and the separation of powers. There is the need for both the federal and state governments to follow the constitution, ensure racial equality, and promote the role of social media and political socialization in an attempt to promote a democratic society. In the world, there is no country with absolute democracy, however, reaching the advanced democratic status is a continuous process.

References

Auger, G. A. (2013). Fostering democracy through social media: Evaluating diametrically opposed nonprofit advocacy organizations' use of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Public Relations Review, 39(4), 369-376.

Diamond, L. (2016). Democracy in decline: how Washington can reverse the tide. Foreign Aff., 95, 151.

Mittal, S., & Weingast, B. R. (2011). Self-enforcing constitutions: with an application to democratic stability in America's first century. The Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization, 29(2), 278-302.