Constitutional Democracy Essay Research Paper Constitutional DemocracyThe

Constitutional Democracy Essay, Research Paper

Constitutional Democracy

The basic premise of a constitutional democracy is that government has

rules and all of the people have voices. Through free and fair elections we

elect candidates to represent us. The Constitution of the United States

guarantees us the right to do this, and to live democratically. The framers

attacked tyrannical government and advanced the following ideas: that government

comes from below, not from above, and that it derives its powers from the

consent of the governed; that men have certain natural, inalienable rights; that

it is wise and feasible to distribute and balance powers within government,

giving local powers to local governments, and general powers to the national

government; that men are born equal and should be treated as equal before the

law. The framers of the U. S. Constitution sought to make these ideas the

governing principles of a nation. Constitutional democracy has three basic

elements. Those being interacting values, interrelated political processes and

interdependent political structures.

The first idea of interacting values is popular consent. Popular

consent means that government must obtain consent for its actions from the

people it governs. It is similar to majority rule, a political process, in that

the most popular acts or ideas of the people will be adopted by our government.

There must be an allowance or willingness on behalf of the unpopular group to

lose.

Popular consent may provide a means for judging parental consent laws

for minors seeking abortion. Since minors are not legally allowed to be

competent to engage in sex, to enter into contracts, or to form sufficient

“informed consent” to agree to their own medical treatment, it is incredible

that they would be regarded as competent to make a life and death decision about

something that later in life they might themselves regard as a real person, with

individual rights

Drawing on several major contributions of the enlightenment, including

the political theory of John Locke and the economic ideas of Adam Smith,

individualism posts the individual human being as the basic unit out of which

all larger social groups are constructed and grants priority to his or her

rights and interests over those of the state or social group.

Individualism in its original form means looking at people as discrete

but whole units, without all the impressions of his social standing, the make of

his car or his postal code. It is a way of deliberation, to tune out the clink

of money in the background when you talk to somebody, so that you can

concentrate on that person’s message and judge it on its own merits.

It means looking at someone and not saying to yourself, “That’s my aunt”

or “That’s my boss,” but rather, that is someone with his or her own

inclinations and desires, in other words, a true Individual who incidentally

happens to have this relation to me, as a relative or a superior.

On a grander scale, individualism is putting the individual above the

state and country. In those countries that have always been proud of their

traditional values of emphasis on the family or the country above self they see

Individualism as a direct attack on these values. However, we live in a

democratic country and we believe in individualism and equal opportunity for all

persons.

Equal opportunity for everyone is idealistic. Roosevelt outlined a

second bill of rights which the book states answers the question, “what kind of

equality.” This second bill of rights was four freedoms. They were freedom

from want, freedom from fear, freedom of speech & expression and freedom of

worship. There are laws and acts to guarantee equal opportunity. For example,

the Equal Pay Act of 1963 which requires equal pay for equal work and the Civil

Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination in programs receiving Federal

funds.

But on a more personal level, we don’t all start at the same line. What

about children beared with AIDS, or children born to the poor. Is it believable

that they have the same opportunities as a child born to middle class parents

who are still married. While every American can be denied almost nothing

because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or

disability, a lot of Americans aren’t in the position to be discriminated

against. This means that many Americans do not have the opportunity to fully

exercise their liberty. Personal liberty is freedom. It means all persons must

be given the opportunity to realize their own goals. It translates to self-

determination.

The Constitution states all people have the right to life, liberty and

freedom. This is a bit idealistic because one person’s liberty may infringe

upon another person’s freedom. Take abortion for exampl

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