The Fate of American Democracy

            THE FATE OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY  
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The Fate of American Democracy Democracy proponents are happy to argue that is the best system of government given the failure of communism and socialism in different parts of the world. In simple terms, democracy is a system of government by the people through elected representatives through control by a majority. According to Ray and Stoyanova (Ray and Stoyanova 2020), the collapse of socialism and communism in the 19^th and 20^th centuries left democracy as the only functioning and effective system of government in the world based on its prevalence particularly in Western society. In recent years, however, questions have been posted on whether democracy remains the best system of government or whether drastic changes are needed. In the United States, for instance, the rise of socialism (Birch 2020) is an indication that the basic tenets of democracy are being questioned. The current paper looks at arguments for and against the fate of democracy to determine its survivability in the long run based on the current global concerns. American Democracy Will Not Survive According to Bright-Line-Watch (2021), Americans have reasons to worry about the state of their democracy. This is due to the prevalence of polarized partisan perceptions of right and wrong within the basic tenets of American democracy. Two fundamental principles of democracy continue to have adverse outcomes on the sustainability of American democracy. These include the pursuit of compromise with political opponents and political competition without criticizing the opponent’s patriotism or loyalty to the country. These two principles may not often be discussed in the public domain because they do not carry flashy headlines, and the public does not perceive them as significant (Bright-Line-Watch 2021). In essence, when compared to the principles of voting rights and fraud-free elections, the two principles appear to be intangible and diffuse. However, erosion of the two principles poses a significant threat to the sustainability of democracy. Attack on Loyalty and Patriotism of Opponents Democracy recognizes political competition with diverse and sometimes sharply contrasting values, beliefs, agendas, and interests. As a result, there is no democracy if the vast diversity in viewpoints is not captured, recognized, respected. Thus, a robust political opposition is not an illegitimate entity in any democratic system. Instead, it is a critical pillar that makes the system democratic in the first place; by providing diverse viewpoints and perceptions. Despite the differences in viewpoints in democracy, none of the opponents wants to ruin the country unless they have other ulterior motives. Thus, the criticism and question of the loyalty or patriotism of opponents dilute opposition views and threaten to make the country a single-party political system since being in opposition, mainly when you are on the side of the minority, you are considered unpatriotic in one’s own country.  The trashing of political opponents based on their loya...