US flag. Source: Pixabay / Comfreak

The United States is not a democracy. Yes, I said it.

I, Ethan Davis, a 16-year-old high school student born and living in the United States, strongly condemn the government of this country for its “democratic” facade. The United States government actively masquerades as being a democratic system, when, in actuality, it is, quite simply, just another broken voting system attached to a monarchy.

I’ll begin by explaining the most glaring reason as to why the United States is not a true democracy. Not all votes in the presidential election are equal. For example, an individual’s vote in the state of Wyoming is about 2.7 times more influential than a vote placed in Iowa (Kirk, 2012). This is absolutely unfair as everyone in the United States is affected by the president’s rulings, and the president has equal power over all citizens, regardless of their voting power. The system, if it were indeed a democracy, would ensure that all votes have equal weight and that the individual recieving the majority of votes would become the president of the United States.

Another factor differentiating the United States’ system from democracy is the fact that a large portion of the US population is not allowed to vote in the presidential election. In January of 2016, about 123 million people were prohibited from voting in the US presidential election (Al-Sibai, 2016). This voting-disabled group accounted for over 1/3 of the US population (Al-Sibai, 2016). In an actual democracy, all of the population affected by the outcome of the election would have voting power.

Yet another disparity between the United States’ system and an actual democracy is the inability of a large portion of the US population to become a presidential candidate or congressperson. I believe that all those affected by a democracy should be able to be represented in its government. In the case of the US, this means that for the country to become an actual democracy, all people living in the country, regardless of age and birthplace, should be able to run for president, run for senate, and hold any governmental position if qualified. (Requirements, n.d.)

In summary, I strongly believe that the members of a democracy should have the power to change regulations and laws when the majority of those affected by said regulations and laws agree. I strongly emphasize that the United States is not a democracy and is not worthy of claiming to be. I’d also like to state that the “fixes” explained in this writing piece are just interim steps toward a perfect democracy which are possibilities of today, a system which is likely unachievable but approachable. I belive that in an optimal democracy, power would be equally shared through an unbiased, majority-wins voting system, however it seems that such a system would be nearly impossible to create considering the derangement of today’s society and individuals’ lack of power. I’m disappointed that I, of all people, had to feel it necessary to write this. I’m disappointed in the lawmakers of the nation for not standing up for the representation of the historically underrepresented.

References:

Al-Sibai, N. (2016, November 03). Millions Of Americans Are Ineligible To Vote. Retrieved March 12, 2018, from https://www.bustle.com/articles/191169-how-many-americans-cant-vote-citizens-can-be-deemed-ineligible-for-a-number-of-reasons

Kirk, C. (2012, November 02). Which States Have the Most Powerful Votes? Retrieved March 12, 2018, from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2012/11/presidential_election_a_map_showing_the_vote_power_of_all_50_states.html

Requirements for the President of the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2018, from https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/elections/requirements-for-president.html