Celina Week #10: For A People
DEMOCRACY. It is a value that Americans attempt to uphold with each individual, in each situation. The idea can be traced back to ancient Greece, in its inception when Aristotle proposed that the majority rules under a present authority, with the choice to live life as they please. Other philosophers after him reflected similar ideals, and this was simply expected within their society. It was a means to uphold the community, to keep citizens accountable, to lead them to a common goal.
This idea has shape shifted often in modern day America, being a common rhetoric in the right and left wing, and encouraging certain policies. The formation of the parties themselves is a testament to America’s promise to rule by the people. However, especially in light of the recent election, that promise seems to be wavering. It seems as though there is no middle ground, that the American people are forced to choose a side in the name of taking advantage of the ability to choose in the first place.
With social media, the divide runs deeper. Every single American is entitled to putting their thoughts, opinions and beliefs on various platforms. This is the American’s right to their freedoms. Ironically, it couldn’t be farther from the democracy these freedoms are built upon. When freedom is used as a means to harm, it is no longer a freedom that is allowed.
To say that the ties to democracy are now somewhat lost, or rather forgotten would unfortunately not be an overestimate. But perhaps, we can at least start to remember what it once meant, what it once promised.
Hello Celina! I agree with your statement that the meaning of democracy has shifted throughout history to match the ideals of the people at the time. I appreciate how your blog draws connections between the recent election, freedom, social media, and the democratic ideals that the nation was founded upon. Your dive into the true meaning of freedom in the presence of harmful social media that can cause divides between us was fascinating to read about. I enjoyed the stylistic choices made throughout your blog post such as making the definition of democracy at the top bold and exploring the history of democracy. Overall, your blog was impactful and powerful and I hope to read more of your work in the future!
ReplyDeleteHi Celina, your post is a very necessary critical take on today’s society, and I enjoyed the ways in which you compared the democracy of now to democracy as it should have been. I agree with your point on social media, and I believe that the freedom of speech and press does not give people the right to spread misinformation or needless hate. This twisted democracy, combined with the actions taken by the President to take away rights from certain groups, have indeed removed democracy from our republic.
ReplyDeleteI liked your blog’s content, and it was very interesting to read. The title is very fitting, and the anticipation created was fulfilled with an enjoyable post. If you were to improve one aspect, I would suggest using a different picture to represent our former democracy, as I feel that this one relates more to independence than democracy. Overall, I liked this post for its criticism of society that still allowed it to be enjoyable.
Hi Celina. Your argument that our ability to participate in a democracy is eroding is a very interesting point which I never thought of before. I think there is a great deal of truth to your statement and I’m very impressed with the logic. I find that the national political situation is at a point where there is no intermediate place to put your support to, since independent candidates are almost always overwhelmed by those with Democratic or Republican Party backing. As such, many Americans are forced to take a side that may represent or advocate an extreme, thus making the party’s supporters voices unheard.
ReplyDeleteI like how you made your first paragraph bold, regardless if it was purposeful or not. It makes a distinction between a definition (the first paragraph) and the analysis and reflection of the definition (latter paragraphs). Using different text colors is a stylistic choice which I’ve never encountered before and I think it fits well with this blog. If there was a small bit of improvement I would say that would make the blog more appealing it would be to include a colored image. That way, my eyes don’t immediately gloss over the picture you put for us to see. Thank you for your unique perspective, it made a lot of sense to me, and I look forward to reading your next blog.