Procedural Democracy

For a country to be truly democratic, it must practice procedural democracy and substantive democracy. A solid foundation and variety of different procedures is what makes a democracy work as it does for us today. There will always be problems with any system and there will always be someone complaining about how the government works. Without a doubt, we will never have a perfect government and we will probably never find one person without some sort of disagreement with the way things are run. But, a democracy is run off of compromises, and it will only work if the people are pleased with the progress that it has made.

Democracy is supposed to be run by the people, but which people actually count. Many democracies don't even allow the majority of their people vote. All democratic governments have some sort of regulations on who is allowed to vote. Even the United States of America, which we perceive to be one of the most democratic countries in the world, has regulations. If you are; too young, have ever been convicted of a felony, not a certified U.S. citizen, or are not mentally competent, you are not allowed to vote. This list has shrunk since the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendment though. Women, blacks, and even the poor have been discriminated upon to keep the people "we" want in the office. Slaves were even counted as only three-fifths of a vote at one time. It has been a hard fought battle by many people to get whom they think are the right people voting.

What may be the most famous line of the Declaration of Independence states "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness...". This line sets the tone for the rest of American life. It lets us know that there should be political equality and every live is as important as the next. It lets us know that one mans opinion is just as important as the other mans opinion. The majority will rule when it comes down to it, but minorities cannot be completely tossed away. They have their rights also.

A procedural democracy is needed for the foundation of a good government, but there has to be some flare from a substantive democracy also. You need all the characteristics of both sides to make it work right. Universal participation, political equality, majority rule, and responsiveness