Democracy Essay - 724 Words

Democracy In the 2000 presidential election, less than 59% of our population saw fit to even vote. 80.5% of those voting were white, thats roughly 60% of the white population. Of the meager 19.5% of the vote the non-white population represented, less than 51% of non-whites able to vote actually did (Census). What does this mean? How can democracy – a republic like ours – correctly function without a more complete representation of opinion from its people? Former UCLA Law professor Julian Eule argued in his essay â€Å"Judicial Review of Direct Democracy† that the framers of our constitution set up the republic to in effect protect us from ourselves, to protect us from this sort of majority rule.(Eule) I believe that this misrepresentation†¦show more content†¦If the opinions of the people are not reflected by the leader they voted into office, so too may his appointees. By not offsetting the extremist votes with the statistically more moderate vote of the general populace, extremists are allowed into office to affect their possibly racist ideas upon the public. Does this rift in the voting population and the legislators themselves necissarily cause the racist legislation and election of racist legislators? Even the nature of proposed equal rights legislation such as affirmative action and its likes are a point of contention. Supported officially by the NAACP and its likes, affirmative action has been largely argued as a positive step toward civil equality, it has also been argued that â€Å"affirmative action programs [are] discrimination in disguise.†(CNN) The NAACP and ACLU, however, argue that the scope of affirmative action is simply too small to be effective and thus appears discriminatory in nature. Due to the nature of the issue and the voting habits of the public, the protection of minority rights cannot be necissarily guaranteed. Evidence of this can be seen even here in texas, where former Governor Bushs policies (in a state with a 29% minority population) caused a 35% decrease in minority admissions to the UT Law program.( ACLU)The President loves to opine about his ‘commitment to racial justice’ but, at practically every turn, heShow MoreRelatedDemocracy Is Not A Democracy1297 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.† said by John Adams Defines our country s government to a tea Democracy commonly refers to a type of political system in which the people or their representatives lawfully govern themselves, rather than being governed, say, by a military dictatorship, totalitarian party or monarchRead MoreDemocracy : Democracy Vs. 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