The Ancestors of Democracy

When you turn on the news, you might see something about senators deciding on this, representatives voting on that. You'll see an elected representative claiming that the American people believe in this, and they want that. In reality though, people don't agree with the politicians we've supposedly elected. Why is that?

Democracy is supposed to be a form of government that is run by the people, meaning that citizens of the country vote on what they want the government to do, they vote on their leaders, they vote on who represents them. Those representatives in turn vote on what they think the people they "represent" want.

I'm not trying to define or describe democracy; I'm just assuming that you already get the idea of what it is. My question though is... does that system of government work?

Now, the things I'm going to say may sound like I'm... an anarchist, or anti-government, but I assure you, I'm pro government. I like the idea of voting for someone, and that person acting in my interest. Humans need order or they'll kill each other.

It's interesting though, to see our so called "representatives" act in our favor, pretend like the things they are doing are what their constituents want. The constant and unceasing bickering, fighting, mudslinging, and all-around mal-natured behavior of the people in the capital frustrate the average citizen.

As big as a country that America is, of course there are going to be people with wildly different opinions, and not all of those people are going to be satisfied, but the assumption is that as least some of the people, the ones with the majority opinion will be somewhat satisfied by the decisions being made in the capital.

Why then are so many Americans frustrated with the government? Sure, it is in human nature for people to be discontent when they don't get what they want, but our politicians are more interested in lining their pockets with money than keeping their constituents happy.

Take health care for example. Wouldn't you say that making healthcare affordable and more convenient is a good thing? Young or old, when you get sick, usually you go to a doctor. The doctor charges you a certain amount of money, and your insurance covers a part of the bill, or at least that's how it's supposed to work. That's what the reform is supposed to be about; making insurance is affordable for more people, so in turn, they can go to the doctor. There are big problems with insurance, which is why the topic of reforming it has come up.

There are different opinions on how it should be reformed, that I won't go into. That is expected. That is the nature of opinion, what should be done, and how it should be done. What bothers me is not that people think that insurance is fine, and it shouldn't be changed at all; that is as I said, expected, a wildly different opinion.

What bothers me is that both sides, republican or democrat, liberal and conservative, are so determined to get what they want that they refuse to compromise and block progress. They ignore the people that elected them and are so determined to boost their own political standing or destroy their opponent that they stop everything and do more damage than they normally do.

This article is not just about healthcare, not about democrats or republicans, left or right, it's about democracy. That form of government that we so desperately cling to and proclaim its supposed superiority.

How can it be so good though, if it defies itself? The people are supposed to dictate what happens to the government, and yet the people are ignored, called ignorant and defiant. Can you blame us though? Can you honestly be upset at us for not understanding what the government is doing when we are not even being told the truth?

Money is the problem. The overwhelming desire for unnecessary amounts of wealth dictates the actions of our leaders and representatives. The promise of fortunes make the weak willed easily manipulatable.

There is hope though. The next generation, the children of the baby boomers are the future of the nation. We are the ones that are frustrated, we are the ones that have grown weary of the "old guys" in the capital that just push us around and call us stupid.

We are the ones that will take over the country, not violently, or revolutionarily, but politically. Already have we seen a growing interest in politics among the youth, fueled by their frustration. That is the future of this country, the departure from the debilitating close mindedness and greediness of our predecessors. Only time will tell though, if anything does change.