de·moc·ra·cy: \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dēmokratia, from dēmos + -kratia -cracy
Date: 1576
1) a: government by the people; especially: rule of the majority;
b: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation, usually involving periodically held free elections

Despite the dictionary’s definition, the word democracy does not have one specific meaning. To Americans, democracy revolves around us having a say in (to a certain extent) how our government is run. Many countries claim to follow democratic ideals, however not all those countries give citizens equal voting rights or much say at all in how their government is run.

As Americans, we follow a liberal democracy—we elect representatives to exercise the power to make decisions and laws. Under majority rule and popular sovereignty we exercise the right to choose our leaders and those who hold office. However, the United States was never established as a “pure” democracy, which would mean that citizens would have a more direct say in how it’s run. This is why, for example, in the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush was named the winner despite there being more individual ballots cast for Al Gore. Many say that the closest form of a “pure” democracy happened in Athens, Greece, where the word originated.

The word democracy to mean “rule by the people” first appeared during the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., when citizens of Athens governed themselves in what is now considered a direct democracy. Ordinary citizens were elected to government offices, formed an assembly and were given the rights to speak and vote in the assembly.
However, it took nearly two thousand years and help from the French Revolution for democratic ideas to transform into something that expresses allegiance and seeks to reform politics, society and the economy into meeting the standards of self-rule.

Many countries have worked toward this ideal of self-rule, but some have had democratic ideas forced upon their culture. For example, in Iraq the American government has forced the idea of democracy onto a culture that has no ties whatsoever to how a democracy should or should not be. To this day much controversy and debate surrounds this decision. And it isn’t just Iraq that’s struggling with democratic ideals. They seem to be dwindling in America as well.

The media’s biased election coverage forces citizens who want to hear all sides to do their own research. Those who either don’t have the time or will power to research tend to make ill-informed voting decisions based solely on emotions or political stance. The media’s power to swing voters causes some to feel alienated, either keeping them from voting or skewing the final outcome. However, this is not a new problem. Leaving major decisions up to the public has been an idea criticized since democracy first came to exist.

Democracy has been debated and criticized among many great philosophers throughout the centuries. Plato contrasted democracy with systems of monarchy (rule by one individual) and oligarchy (rule by a small elite class). He claimed that people are swayed by emotional and deceptive language in democratic societies and suggested that the society itself may fall apart if an ill-informed public makes decisions. Sir Winston Churchill agreed, stating that ‘the best argument against democracy is a five-minute discussion with the average voter.’

The Greek philosopher Aristotle said that government should be by the leisured who have enough time on their hands to pursue virtue—laborers are too busy. He argued that democratic rule is by and for the needy while aristocracy and monarchy are more superior forms because the ruler has the country’s interest at heart. “Tyranny … is monarchy exercising the rule of a master over the political society; oligarchy is when men of property have the government in their hands; democracy, the opposite, when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers,” said Aristotle.

On the other hand, Nietzsche related democracy to five historical ideas: progress, compassion, equality, Christianity and peace. The introduction of democratic ideas became a catalyst for organizing the powers of the government in a fair way that makes sense, opening up possibilities for new, clearer ways of thought.

Democracy is dependent on people conversing about political ideas, but in a society so disconnected, tempers rise and people tend to choose sides defensively instead of keeping an open mind in discussion. As a decline in voter involvement in elections continues, what was once seen as a method to improve equality is seemingly failing in our society. Perhaps the upcoming election will be a fresh start, jostling a few more American voters into using their democratic rights, or perhaps the downward spiral of passivity will continue, leaving a small portion of Americans to make decisions for the rest of us.