Tuesday, November 01, 2005

On Democracy and Political Issues

I have often wondered what would happen if this country were actually a democracy. We all hear the word democracy thrown about, but of course, we are not truly a democracy; we are a republic. The people vote for representatives to make laws and govern the nation on their behalf. So, what would happen if we were truly a democracy and people actually voted on the issue, not for politicians? It might be chaos, it might run smoothly, but apparently it would be more liberal than what we have right now. The Nation reports:
More than 30 percent of Americans happily answer to the appellation "conservative," while 18 percent call themselves "liberal." And yet when questioned by pollsters, a super-majority of more than 60 percent take positions liberal in everything but name. Indeed, on many if not most issues, Americans hold views well to the left of those espoused by almost any national Democratic politician.
I'm aware that The Nation is a liberal magazine, but they were not the ones conducting the poll. The poll was conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. It found that
65 percent of respondents said they favor providing health insurance to all Americans, even if it means raising taxes, and 86 percent said they favor raising the minimum wage. Seventy-seven percent said they believe the country "should do whatever it takes to protect the environment."
Interesting statistics for such a "red" nation. Maybe democracy is not such a bad idea after all.

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