PDF Ebook Prescription for Democracy at Middle-Age: A Healthy Regimen of Public Dialogue
In its early days in America, democracy was hardly democratic. With many held in slavery and servitude, women subjugated and disenfranchised, and the landed gentry controlling the ballot box as well as the newly developing government, democracy cried out for sustenance, for major interventions that would assure its healthy, long-term development.
In the 19th and 20th Centuries democracy began to grow up. Political reforms gave citizens greater access to the political process. As noted by Johns Hopkins University Professor Matthew Crenson in his “From Popular to Personal Democracy”in the National Civic Review, “the introduction of primary elections, the use of referendum and recall, sunshine laws, legislative mandates requiring agencies to give public notice and hold public hearings before making policy changes, freedom of information statutes all would seem to have made the government more responsive to citizens than ever before.” 1 Huge gains in civil rights in the 1960s and 1970s and other reforms largely abolished systematic disenfranchisement.
As the United States entered the new millennium, democracy, it seemed, had hit middle-age. On its face, democracy appears strong and healthy. We have inarguably made great strides, yet many democratic ideals remain only partially realized and there are signs that democracy’s long-term health may be compromised by the poor lifestyle choices we’re making today. The health of democracy is just like physical health in this way. We cannot rely on doctors – the experts – to maintain our own health. We must be educated and active in our own decision-making to maintain our democratic health as well.
At 58, I have taken heart from the new book, Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You're 80 and Beyond by Chris Crowley and Dr. Henry S. Lodge. The authors argue that health decline needn’t be a given. They present strategies to re-energize body systems – to have the best advantages of life experience coupled with dynamic physical well-being. It is a common-sense framework that has significant parallels to democracy in middle-age.
Before addressing a number of democracy’s current disconcerting health indicators and diagnoses, I must add to the previous list of “improvements in citizen access” a number of other positive signs. Voting rates in the last Presidential election were up, youth voting was up, information sharing and political organizing through the internet is increasing rapidly, the power of the “blog” is a fascinating phenomenon (at least in its ability to influence media discourse), Americans are more likely to contribute money to political and advocacy organizations than ever before, 2 “meet-ups” are taking off, and various models of public engagement promoted by both conservatives and liberals are gaining legitimacy, supporters, and a track record of success. The grassroots engagement campaigns during the 2004 election were most encouraging in this respect.
Public Agenda’s research shows that Americans believe that the United States is one of the most democratic nations on earth, and their faith in the country and its founding principals is strong. 3 But is our democracy as healthy as most Americans perceive it to be?
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PDF Ebook Prescription for Democracy at Middle-Age: A Healthy Regimen of Public Dialogue
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