What Is Current Event Reflection?

Current Event Reflection Paper 2

The “America’s decaying democracy” is written by Dambisa Moyo and was published on the official website of the Washington Post recently. This article raised a critical issue regarding the decrease in popularity of democracy in the United States and people’s concern over it. Out of many reasons behind the less popularity of democracy, the article also noted that i99bet inefficient practices of democracy do not let the government handle the economic challenges. Voter participation is a major concern, as it is less than the international standards. Since the 1970s, voter participation is about 50%, and it is even less for households with an average income of less than $30,000, reducing to only 30% (Moyo, 2018). Another major reason behind the decay of democracy is the influence of money on politics and buying of political power and i99bet. The political parties who are able to spend millions of dollars on election campaigns directly become favorable to win elections. Moreover, a Pew survey revealed that about 80% of US citizens do not trust the federal government to solve their problems (Moyo, 2018). 

In the second phase of the article, the author Moyo gave a solution to improve the system of democracy. The primary solution he gave was to ensure maximum voter participation. Firstly, he gave the idea of mandatory voting. This will make compulsory for every citizen to cast the vote in elections. Secondly, he introduced the idea of Voter testing. This will test the knowledge of all voters regarding the country issues, their party’s candidates and mandate behind the electoral system. Thirdly, he noted the idea of weighted voting which will ensure that the qualified voter has maximum influence on the outcome of elections in the democratic system. Lastly, he recommended the idea of Longer term limits which will allow a single government to work within relaxed time frame and implement their policies. 

The article discusses the issue of practices and popularity of democracy and it is related and reflects back to the study of “Politics and democracy” that we studied in chapter 1 of our course contents. To better understand the connection between politics and democracy, we should understand what politics really is. Politics can be defined as the activity, negotiation or application of force by which an issue is agitated or settled (Martin, 1955). When a new government is formed in a democratic setup, their performance is usually assessed using statistical figures and surveys and not really on the political aspect in the first place. The financial and economic positions of the country at the start and end of government tenure also give a good assessment. However, history proves that government problems were “political” and not mathematical (Wilson, chapter 1). Now, it should be noted that the decrease in popularity of democracy is due to this political influence. Moreover, there can be numerous national issues that a country can face. These include environmental protection, immigration, gun control, international trade, welfare reform, taxes, budget allocation and so on (Wilson, chapter 1). Now, in the article, the author gave the idea of weighted voting and voter testing. If voters are well aware of these national issues, the idea of weighted voting can work in that democratic setup that is not losing its trust and popularity among the US citizens.
In the article, I agreed with the ideas of voter testing and longer term limits as steps to improve the system. Firstly, it is a fact that people have lost some interest in democracy and they have little to no concern with the activities of the federal government. The voter testing is the solution, as it will compel people to get awareness about the democratic and national issues of the country before casting their vote. By doing this, they will automatically develop an interest to cast their vote and play their part in the democratic system. Secondly, the longer term limits will allow a single government to focus and implement their programs without any opposition and negative influence from interest groups and lobbyists. On the other hand, I do not agree with the idea of mandatory voting mentioned in the article. The mandatory article will mean that every single citizen needs to cast his/her vote. Although this will ensure 100% voter turnout, yet the results can turn out to be biased. Not every person has a good insight on political issues. If an ignorant person is asked to vote, he may cast it to the wrong candidate. Moreover, mandatory voting will give air to bribery and paid political influence as well.
In my assessment, this article gave a good insight into the popularity of the democratic system among the people. People are continuously losing interest in the democratic setup and this is proved using the statistical figures of voter turnout mentioned in the article. I picked this article because of the ever decreasing interest of Americans in the democratic setup. Many people are criticizing the current President Donald Trump and they feel that the democratic system of the country allowed biases in the presidential elections. So, this article interested me because it was relevant to my concerns with the current democratic government setup. In addition, this article will help me to convince my friends that voting is the best way to give your input in the country’s progress. I will conduct voter testing to check their knowledge of our democracy and the federal government. My opinion is also backed up by the evidence of low voter turnout percentage mentioned in this article. In essence, people first need to understand their voting responsibilities before lashing out at the democratic setup of the United States.

References

Dambisa Moyo. (2018, June 7). America’s decaying democracy. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/07/american-democracy/?utm_term=.9b045b88b799
Martin Meyerson and Edward C. Banfield, Politics, Planning, and the Public Interest (New York: Free Press, 1955), 304.
Wilson, et. al. American Government: Institutions and Policies. (16th ed.) Boston, MA: Cengage