America's Failing Democracy: How Citizens Became the Problem - Political Analysis & Social Commentary for Modern US Society

As Ben Franklin said, when asked by the people on the street, when he emerged from Constitutional Convention in 1787, what type of government had been produced? "A Republic, if you can keep it." pg 15. The framers did not want direct democracy for that form of government would eventually deteriorate into either anarchy or tyranny by the majority or factions thereof. However, despite the framers carefully balanced design, the American government has moved from a Republican form of government to a more democratic model of performance as the decades passed from 1787. But our author, Kirby Goidel argues [which I support] that more democracy has NOT solved the nation's problems. In fact, greater democracy, greater citizen participation in voting and running for office , have made our problems worse while decreasing citizen trust and confidence in government. pg 41-42. Part of the problem we citizens must confront in designing a new government-- is we are the problem! Research has come to light about the myth of the rational voter. If voters make decisions not on the content of the arguments of a campaign speech but instead based upon predetermined social characteristics or deeply rooted political orientation, then how can the assumption of an informed and engaged citizenry be reconciled with evidence of an uninformed and disinterested electorate where less than half the people bother to vote? How can a government "by the people" develop a coherent public policy if "the people" have incoherent and contradictory beliefs and values about just what the government should be doing? Pg 56-57. In other words, the author is saying that in the real world, American voters do not behave like the political scientists say they should or they way rational informed citizens of ancient Greece might have performed. Instead a majority of the electorate is composed of ignorant citizen voters who possess uninformed , incoherent, and/or sometimes contradictory notions or desires of public policies which are not based upon rational ideas but upon past habits or culturally ingrained emotions learned from child hood experiences. When discussing the failure of American democracy, we must lay the blame directly at the feet of the American people. And frustrated citizens who believe the solution to partisan gridlock and government inefficiency is greater citizen engagement and involvement will only make the situation worse. pp 165-166. Democracy is not a one size fits all solution to every problem, every failed system, or every bad decision. Some policy decisions require expertise not common sense democracy. Giving the people whatever they think they want rarely produces a balanced budget and is no guarantee of responsible governance, democratic peace, or economic prosperity. pg 166. Democracy implies the idea of equality. But that involves a trade off. If everyone is equal, the decisions everyone makes may not produce the best decision for the long term interest of the society or for its economic prosperity. pg 167. At the moment, American democracy may well be threatening the long term viability of the nation as a military, economic, and scientific superpower. pg 167. Democracies are better than dictatorships, but they can and do fail. They fail not only because despots seize political power through force, but also because they fall under their own weight when they become unable to meet the unreasonable demands and unrealistic expectations of their uninformed, ignorant, and greedy voting citizens. pg 168. The author says too many of our citizens blame the Tea Party, labor unions, right-wing conservatives, liberal socialists, corporate giants, or the "special interests" as causing the gridlock or inefficiencies in government when in fact it is their own failure to make meaningful demands upon their democratically elected representatives. What happens in Washington is a reflection of who we are as a people. A nation of takers. We get the government we deserve. So the issue we must now decide is how much democracy should we have and in what form? What decisions need to be made democractically as a nation and which should be left to the political leaders to sort out based upon expertise and experience which the ordinary voter would not normally possess? pg 169 If we want government to be more efficient, we must empower our elected representatives to make decisions based not on our immediate or short term wants, needs, or desires, but instead upon our long term best interest as a nation of free loving peoples. pg 170Government must be held accountable for its decisions, but that accountability should be based on whether our elected representatives have effectively solved our most pressing and persistent problems and not whether they have staked out the right position on the public policy issue but then did little or nothing to solve or fix. pg 170. Term limits are not the answer. Our elected officials represent their local constituencies short term preferences far too well. What is missing in this model it the representation of the national collective long term interest of all citizens. pg 177. More democracy will not cure government paralysis. We get the government we deserve, paralyzed by gridlock, wrapped in indecision, and polarized politics. pg 179.Higher voter turnout does not translate into more effective governance. It might if voters sent clear, unambiguous and coherent requests for what they want government to do, but they rarely do this. pg 181.Better educated citizens does not translate into better voters either. pg 183. The Electoral College performs reasonably well. The perceived failures have less to do with an antiquated institutional framework and more to do with a divided electorate and a highly competitive general election. A popular vote would not change this and might make it worse. ppg184-187. He gives suggestions to reform the political system , most of which I support. Read chapter 7 and his afterward.I recommend all citizens read this book. Our government is broken and we the citizens need to band together to fix it.Terry Jennrich