The Disappearing Democracy of the United States
For Americans, the word “democracy” itself is strong enough to conjure up notions of a nation unhindered by an oppressive government where citizens are able to engage in the freedom of speech, press, and religious choice and practice. So powerful are American pro-Democratic sentiments that it is a common thought that any other country that does not prescribe to a liberal democracy is somehow inferior. Yet as time marches on, the feelings of superiority by American citizens become more and more unfounded. For, right before our eyes, the very notion of democracy, that Americans become braggarts about, is disappearing. While the U.S. government boasts of the freedoms it affords its citizens, it corrupts such an image through repeated non-democratic actions. While citizens cherish the affordances of a liberal democracy, many do not make the effort to support such a system; taking it for granted that no matter what, a democracy is a self perpetuating entity. In this paper I will argue that the liberal democracy that supposedly defines American government is a declining entity due to overt acts against the principles of democracy by the United States government and also due to the decline of civic engagement by United States citizens. The fact is, no system of government can be perpetuated if the government and its citizens do not work to keep their ideals alive and in practice.
Since the inception of a democratic government in the United States’ early history, many have held that a liberal democracy should be the standard to which all other governments should attempt to emulate (CNN.com, 1). As the world’s leading super power, the United States sets an exampl...
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By 1763, although some colonies still maintained established churches, other colonies had accomplished a virtual revolution for religious toleration and separation of church and state. Between the two established churches, in the colonies, Anglican and Congregational, a considerable number of people didn't worship in any church. But in the colonies with a maintained religion, only a few belonged to it. As in England, Catholics were still discriminated against, but since their numbers were fewer the laws were less severe. Similarly, The Church of England was established in America, as it was in England already. However, in America the Congregationalists and Anglicans were the more dominate religions compared to the Catholics in Europe and England.
Hudson, William E. American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America's Future. Washington, DC: CQ, 2010. Print.
The United States is run by a democracy. There are many pieces to democracy that must be in good health in order for democracy to be effective and work. In this essay I will critique some of the most important parts of democracy in America and go deeper. I will first focus on the strengths of United States democracy and then I will dive into categories of democracy that I believe to not be thriving. I believe that the current conditions of United States democracy are becoming a hindrance to this nation, because the opinions and freedoms the public possess are being stripped away through poor media, education, and economy.
To deal with the issue of an aging population, an awareness campaign about the health issues that commonly affect aged people should be run by the government and non-governmental agencies. In addition, awareness should be created among the young to accommodate the elderly; at home as well as at work places...
Works Cited Hudson, William E. American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America’s Future – Fourth Edition. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2004. Landy, Marc and Sidney M. Milkis. American Government: Balancing Democracy and Rights.
The Ministry of Social Development, 2008. Office for Senior Citizens the Ministry of Social Development Highlights from the Positive Ageing Strategy Annual Report 2001/2008 and Action Plan 2008/2010
Religion was the back-bone for the pilgrimage. Saying so, this allows one to ponder the argument that the United States is in existence today due to religion. I agree with Patricia Bonomi’s argument that the colonies transferred the importance from that of the group to that of the individual. This enabled each and every colonist. They were not only working for the whole but themselves now. Importance was placed upon the individual and self-reliance, by means of spirituality, was becoming more the common place. A type of individual freedom took place which ...
"United States can be seen as the first liberal democracy. The United States Constitution, adopted in 1788, provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties. On the American frontier, democracy became a way of life, with widespread social, economic and political equality. The system gradually evolved, from Jeffersonian Democracy or the First Party System to Jacksonian Democracy or the Second Party System and later to the Third Party System. In Reconstruction after the Civil War (late 1860s) the newly freed slaves became citizens, and they were given the vote as well." (Web, 1)
The term “ageism” is not easily understood by most of the population because of its acceptance as normal behavior due to the ingrained attitudes that most people develop in their youth, but health care workers must fully embrace the term within their profession in order to avoid becoming a contributor to the historical prevalence of prejudices and discrimination. The term ageism is defined by Klein and Liu (2010) as “the discrimination of individuals based solely on age” (p. 334). “Ageism is a social construct that is internalized in the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of individuals” (Klein & Liu, 2010, p. 334). Robert Butler, a well-known gerontologist, coined the term “ageism” citing that the discrimination and prejudice associated with this term is often based on the lack of a person’s experience with older people (Ferrini & Ferrini, 2013, p. 6). Ferrini and Ferrini (2013) refer to the strong influence that cultural beliefs and attitudes as well as a person’s current age influence the perception of aging (p. 6). Everywhere within society there are influences that encourage ageist attitudes such as media conveyances through movies, books, television, greeting cards, magazines and the Internet (Ferrini and Ferrini, 2013, p. 6). These negative connotations related to growing older begin to influence all people at a very young age and therefore impact their attitudes as they make career decisions. This has directly impacted the number of health care providers who specialize in geriatrics as well as the attitudes of those who do provide services for older adults. These false perceptions and negative attitudes are currently impacting the q...
One of the most important concerns that not only the certain region or country but the whole globe is facing with is the societal aging. Societal aging refers to the “social and demographic process that result in the aging of a population” Aging of the population would impact different aspect of social life. For instance, as the baby boomers aging, the evolvement of those generation in different community would increase. Also, the expectation of better healthcare and ethical issues around the aged people has grown (Morgan & Kunkle 2016: 6).
"Democracy" means, to many Americans, a system in which they choose their own leaders, voice their opinions to representatives in government, and human rights and freedoms are respected by the state. But in practice, "democracy," when applied abroad by the United States, means subjugating native peoples to the will of American corporations, and in the process, the destruction...
In his article entitled, The Centenarian, author Henry J. Aaron notes that by the middle of this century, there will be more than one-million people living in the United States who are over 100 years-of-age. In 1960, there were one-million 85 year-olds. At the beginning of the twentieth-cen...
Landy, Marc and Sidney M. Milkis. American Government: Balancing Democracy and Rights. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in major shift in United States foreign policy. For years, the United States supported tyrannical dictators in return for stable anti-communist government receptive to United States interests. The Cold War resulted in a new world order with the United States as the lone global hegemonic power. In Eastern Europe in particular, the end of the Cold War ushered in an era of economic growth and a large increase in the number of liberal democracies. Although the world saw a large increase in liberal democracies, a new regime type referred to as competitive authoritarianism began to emerge. According to Levitsky and Way, “In competitive authoritarian regimes, formal democratic institutions are widely viewed as the principal means of obtaining and exercising political authority. Incumbents violate those rules so often and to such an extent, however, that the regime fails to meet conventional minimum standards for democracy” . In labeling these regimes as authoritarian and not democratic, Levitsky and Way place emphasis on the importance of differentiating these questionable regimes from prototypical democracies. In their definition they argue that all democracies have four inherent traits; “Executives and legislatures are chosen through Elections that are open, free, and fair, virtually all adults possess the right to vote, political rights and civil liberties, including freedom of the press, association, to criticize the government are protected and elected authorities possess real authority to govern, in that they are not subject to the tutelary control of military or clerical leaders” . These, Levitsky and Way argue are fundamental for the prospects of democracy. ...
Aging is a global issue because of the influx of older adults into the population scheme.