What is a democracy?

Ademocracy is one of many different forms of government, and is best defined as a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Other forms of government, to name a few, include autocracies (dictatorships), oligarchies, aristocracies (royalty), anarchy (chaos), and theocracies (religious leaders). All have been tried throughout the thousands of years of civilization with varying degrees of success and failure — mostly failure. Dictatorships have mostly been brutal and self-serving and die with the dictator. Aristocracies suffer from inbreeding, and theocracies (such as Iran) are a good example of why the state should be separate from the church. Democracy stands the best chance for success since it is self-perpetuating and relies on the collective intelligence of the entire population, not the limited intelligence (or ignorance) of one or several individuals. In a democracy everyone participates, starting with their votes. In general, the larger the population, the greater the need for a more extensive, more encompassing representation. With over 8 billion people on this Earth and 330 million people in this country, a comprehensive system of government is required to bring any sort of stability and self-perpetuation to this world and country.

Historically, the U.S. is a very young country, at less than 250 years. It has experienced wrenching turmoil and growth similar to many older civilizations, both positive and negative. Democracy has invited corruption, genocide, racism and segregation of all types on the one hand, and has created growth (both economic and ethical), prosperity and opportunity (believe it or not), cultural and scientific advances, and leadership on the world stage (not always good, not always bad). The U.S. is still in its infancy as a democracy and still has a long way to go. Despairing that a democracy is not “perfect” for this faction or that faction does not solve any problem, and, instead, sets the country further behind.

So what does it take to maintain a democracy? First and foremost an advanced and elaborate educational system is required, from pre-school through trade school or college. Without the ability of the population to think critically, a democracy cannot survive, and as we cut back on educational spending and opportunity we are beginning to see the results. Only with critical, open-minded, thinking citizens on a large scale is a democratic country able to solve problems, create enlightened solutions and formulate compromise. The U.S. is not meeting its educational obligations and the level of knowledge necessary to maintain a democracy, and one result of this imposed ignorance is that people are mistakenly seeking other quick-fix systems of government, such as a dictatorship. Preschools are far and few between, and most are not publicly supported and, therefore, not affordable to the average family. Teachers are woefully underpaid considering their requirements and professionalism, and the average class size is double what is considered a most ideal level. Higher education (especially college) is likewise unaffordable and is creating insurmountable debt for far too many students. School budgets are cut more often than not. The result of these shortcomings is a low ranking in terms of educational systems compared to the rest of the world. These are pretty dismal and embarrassing results and certainly nothing to brag about.

What needs to be done? Triple our educational spending. Pay our teachers well and remember they are teachers, not babysitters and not “in loco parentis.” Schools need to halve the class sizes (which might require some more real estate), create public pre-schools everywhere (the return just on this is 13.5 percent, by the way), and offer free tuition for at least two years at state colleges and universities. Is this expensive? Yes, but the long-term returns easily justify these expenditures. They are a great investment. Then, and only then, will a democracy be able to thrive and benefit every citizen in the country.