Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport

By Ernest Ohlhoff, Director of Outreach

Over 220 years ago, a courageous band of individuals representing 13 British colonies in North America signed the Declaration of Independence, which articulated the principles of self-determination and liberty that formed the foundation for what became the United States of America.

Despite public rebuke and potential loss of lives and fortunes, these great leaders were inspired to create a democratic republic that rested on a core of timeless principles. Our form of government has at its very heart the inalienable right of each citizen to play his or her role in helping to shape the direction and scope of public policy.

The American experiment in democracy has endured through times of great turmoil, at home and abroad, precisely because citizens freely chose to participate actively in the democratic process.

It is truly tragic today that our "progressive" educational system now often skims over or skips entirely these important components of our history. As a result, many of our younger citizens and some of our older ones have little knowledge of the writings, debates, and documents that formed our government.

Surveys show that too few people today vote and many do not know who their senators and representatives are, how they are elected, or what their duties are.

In addition, many of our citizens have somehow lost touch with the basic principles that were so dear to our founding fathers. The all too commonly used phrase, "it's the economy, stupid," reflects a self-centered, "what's-in-it-for-me?" approach to government. Democracy is not a spectator sport. If we do not participate in the process, we will get a government shaped by others.

We have a double responsibility: first, we must remind our friends and neighbors about their duty to study issues and vote. And second, we must make sure they accurately know the positions and voting records of the candidates on the issues of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and assisted suicide.

Unlike almost every other country in the world, the leaders and policies of the government of the United States are supposed to embody the sum total of its citizens. If our democracy appears sullied or tainted we need only look at our own actions or in actions as citizens. Why? Because, in the end, it is we as individuals who are collectively the United States of America.

PLEASE, participate in our great democracy. Vote on November 3.

Our revolutionary new form of government was ridiculed by many naysayers of the day, some of whom were highly educated and powerful. These opponents of democracy simply could not believe that the "average" citizen was capable of understanding the workings of government, much less participating in its process.

Well, history has proved these 18th century naysayers wrong and today the American experiment in democracy is a model of representative government and civil liberty for the rest of the world.

But the core principle of a representative democracy remains the direct and continued involvement of the individual citizen.