While there are various forms of government systems, our country is a democracy. This system is believed to be the most beneficial to the society and most developed nations in the world use it. In a democracy, the people choose their government leaders and the government is accountable to the people. This paper will highlight three of the most important features of American Democracy.
The first most important feature of our democracy is that the citizens hold the power of government. While it might appear as though the government is all-powerful, this is not the case since the government derives its power from the people. Through their right to vote, the citizens elect their government representatives.
This feature of democracy ensures that the principle of rule by the people is achieved since it is the people who empower the government to work. Voting is an extremely important aspect of the democratic process since it is the primary means through which the citizens exercise their political influence by voting in leaders of their choice.
The elected individuals are accountable to the citizens who have the power to vote them out of office if they feel that they are not effectively serving them. The appointed representatives are therefore obliged to act in the best interest of the citizens who voted for them.
The democracy ensures that the fundamental rights of the individual are protected. There are laws in place that give individuals rights and protect their civil liberties. The American democracy is founded on the premise that each person possesses some rights that cannot be overridden even by the welfare of the state.
These rights are perceived as fundamental and inalienable and they are not subject to political bargaining. The government has a duty and obligation to promote, protect and defend these fundamental rights for all American citizens. The democratic system ensures that the rights of its citizens are enforceable under the law of the land.
The state is not allowed to trample upon and get away with violations of the fundamental human rights of citizens of the country. The system of governance is accountable to the people meaning that the leaders have to be concerned about the rule of law and defense of the fundamental rights of their citizens.
The third important feature of our democracy is that political decisions that have significance in the lives of the citizens are decided upon through voting therefore making sure that majority rule triumphs. While the needs of the citizens are addressed on a national platform by their elected members such as congressional representatives and senators, the citizens are able to vote directly on laws or constitutional amendments through referendums.
This ensures that the government does not engage in action that is contrary to the will of the people. Citizens are also able to vote on local issues such as levying taxes and deciding local ordinances. As such, citizen participation in political decision-making is not only limited to electoral cycles.
While there are many other features of our democracy, these are some of the most important. Due to these features, the superiority of the citizens over the government is ensured since the people choose the government and are involved in the major decision-making. The fundamental rights of each citizen are also guaranteed because of our democracy.