DEMOCRACY, PATRIOTISM, EQUALITY
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
In this topic about UK politics I have learned many things based on the different discussions that we have had, for example in the discussion where it was asked "Is it time for a general election in the UK?" I was able to comprehend that we, the people, should be allowed to actively participate in our country's politics through events like a public general election because our voices need to be heard. Choices affecting our lives should not only be made by single minds or parliaments because we also have the right of choice on the most important issues.
The discussions also helped me see that we need a government whose policies we agree to and if we don't, we should speak out against it because with countries facing problems like food crisis and pandemics like Covid-19, the people need a stable government that they can agree with and trust. In cases where the people don't agree with the government, they may not comply to the laws set.
The UK had some prime ministers who were chosen out of the party's and individual's interests. They ended up resigning one after the other causing political instability in the country. For example LIZ TRUSS resigned after making mistakes and so people said that they could not rely on her and BORIS JOHNSON resigned after he was caught breaking one of his own rules during the covid-19 lockdown. In Topical Talk we had a discussion about whether there should be "one rule for everyone" or whether leaders should be exempted or held to different standards. I feel that leaders are also human enough to make mistakes and should be helped to correct them. But I can also see that for those like BORIS JOHNSON's- such careless mistakes shouldn't be tolerated because they could cause irreplaceable damage and loss of trust.
In a pandemic situation like covid-19 where leaders had to lead their communities well in order to stay safe from the disease and new laws like early curfew and home lockdown were put in place, people finding that their own leaders are breaking the laws that they have set themselves would cause the people to not comply themselves. This could perhaps increase infections and many dying in the process.
So to conclude on this topic, it's important for a country to respect and embrace DEMOCRACY. People need to be satisfied with their leaders to have a politically stable and peaceful nation with a good relationship between the government and its people. For this to happen it's important that leaders follow the same rules they set so as to set examples for the people they govern.
"DEMOCRACY,PATRIOTISM AND EQUALITY" if we are to have passionate,honest and fair leadership.
Comments (8)
I think the basics of the democracy is justice on which the whole buiding of nation stands. Justice begins with the fair means to get elected as democratic leader of any country. The neutrality of the election system decide the fate of democracy in any country.
Democracy is basically balancing the power of the core institutes in any country. In my country the military institute is the most powerful and influencial institute due to its vast landholdings and resources. So it make it more difficult to prevail democracy in the face of such strong and influencial and independent institute. There must be a way of reconciliation between the civilian and defence institutes in order to restore the democracy to the full and fair extends.
When talking about the importance of democracy it is important to define it accurately. Democracy is popular sovereignty – in Abraham Lincoln’s words, ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’. At its heart is the concept of the population choosing a government through regular, free, and fair elections. Supporting democracy encourages essential principles like worker rights and freedom of religion and contributes to a safer, more peaceful world where countries may pursue their interests. To be honest I feel like everyone should adopt a democratic form of government even if not permanently it should be tested.
If it were tested, do you think it would easy to go back to a non-democracy afterwards? Why or why not?
When choosing to rule in democracy, it is impossible to reverse it, because of the facilitations in it from both parties, the government and the people. When the people freely choose without pressure on them, they choose with precision those who benefit them and their country and people, so the burdens on the government are few, because it does not face problems or pressures, because The people chose themselves what they want, so they do not issue any defect to their government because it is their choice alone.
"WOULD IT BE EASY TO GO BACK TO NON-DEMOCRACY AFTERWARDS?"
In my view,changing to democracy would expose people to the freedom of choosing their leadership and having their opinions valued politically. For example, taking part in general elections would make all voters in the country to experience what it means to choose who gets to lead you at the different posts, most especially the President's post.The leaders chosen endeavoring to find out what their voters' opinions are and fulfilling their voters' interests.Such a system makes the people to feel connected to the political world and that they are independent free from oppression or dictatorship.
After having people test how such a system of government works and enjoy such freedom and the fact their own the power "Power Belongs To The People" I don't think it will be easy to go back to non-democracy afterwards because;
1."Power Belongs To The People" This a slogan for a political pressure group in my country Uganda called "PEOPLE POWER" and it's main objectives and missions is to keep power to the people not dictatorship.So if the people in power try to officially change to a non-democracy government,there will be conflict from such opposition parties that believe that power belongs to the people forexample there could be demonstrations,roits,strikes and boycotts by the people themselves as try to fight for their rights with also the influence of such opposition parties. When things go from bad to worse,this could be a starting point of a war for power in the country between the government that wants to go to non-democracy and the opposition parties that advocate for democracy,here you can see rebel groups to wreaking havoc in the country taking advantage of the political instability in the country and many people will end up losing their lives,the economy will fall since activities like tourism,agriculture,mining shall be hindered in such chaos.In fact it's might be impossible because when other countries see that your fighting your own people, killing and violating their rights,they will be forced to come in to stop you plus the pressure from organizations of human rights such Armnesty International and the UN. With such powers coming into the picture,I don't think it can be possible for them to forcefully change the government system.So basically here my point is that trying to go back to dictatorship and non-democratic government with bring about chaos in the country destroying many things and the country will go from moving forward to going backwards economically.
However,in modern current world,such government that like the non-democratic government are in existence but they play their cards well as they hide in democracy to carry on the dictatorship.They cheat the voting process by adding vote papers to the initial ones collected hence accumulating votes and they end up wining the elections.Even though the people remain unsatisfied,they remain silent because they don't have proof of their accusations.The opposition parties try to go to court to report such injustice but those people bribe the court judges and sometime threaten them with the lives of their loved ones forexample they might put a judge's family at gun point and they tell the judge to announce in their favour or even dismisses the case even if their is solid evidence.So this way,they manage to rule the country for so many years and they even change the Constitution forexample removing the age limit for being the president.For me,I call it "Dictatorship In Democracy"
Some one out there definitely knows that I'm now speaking facts;
AREN'T I???
I agree because... I think this is a very important point that people don't actually think about. "Government of the people, by the people, for the people". But who are the people really? 52% which voted for Brexit, as opposed to 48% which wanted to stay in EU? You have almost a half of UK not satisfied.
Daring_cherry, you say that "Choices affecting our lives should not only be made by single minds or parliaments because we also have the right of choice on the most important issues." But our right of choice was exercised exactly when we chose parliament. That's why we bother to go and vote. They are there to apply our choice.
But I do agree with the fact that people should trust the government. Even if we do not agree with their proposals, we should at least be able to trust them.
I really like your standpoint daring_cherry. I enjoyed your view that "we need a government whose policies we agree to and if we don't, we should speak out against it..." and that "we, the people, should be allowed to actively participate in our country's politics..."
It sounds like you have given some considerable thought to the role people have in holding governments to account. Do you think this is a commonly held view amongst your peers? What would you do to encourage others to actively participate in politics?
Well,most of my peers are young people;
I think I would encourage them to actively participate in politics by;
1.Starting with them:I would for starters ask my peer what he thinks about politics in the country, for example "Who do you want to win the Presidential election and why?" OR "Hey! Would you run for Head Prefect at schoolThis way I'm able to engage their political mind and see if they have any interest in taking a political statement.If my peer says shows no interest for the Head Prefect post,I could instead for his support in my campaigns as I run for the post myself,for example he can help in making posters and posting them across the school,talking to students requesting for their votes.Besides that,in case there is dissatisfaction in the students are they want to raise a voice,I would suggest a peaceful demonstration in the school compound without violence but to pass on are voice as students.In such ways they are actively participating in politics and little by little I'm engaging them politically.
2.I could encourage fellow young peers to help in the registration process and also get voters to the polls when elections are held in our community.They can help by helping older citizens register for voting and they can also help them to get to the polls in time for voting,others can even be polling agents or guiders such that there are smooth elections.Furthermore, I would encourage them to volunteer for campaign teams where there opinions are valued and believed in that they have political importance.I would also encourage and mobilize fellow young people to support their fellows that are contesting for example participating in car wash events to fundraise for that candidate money to help with his political needs such as posters and most cases we the youth believe in each I think here we can't fail to support a friend.
Lastly,I would encourage them to take part in school politics and clubs to improve their leadership skills and also put them to the test. I think all those are great ideas that can get the young people to participate actively in politics,to vote and stand for candidacy.
Let's support the youth to make political statements to make a "BRIGHT FUTURE"
This is a very big topic, and I personally think that there is a lot to unpick. Democracy is a perfect balance between Freedom, respect and equality. In Italy people say "my freedom stops where yours stars" which makes perfect sense.
What's your point of view?
"my freedom stops where yours starts"
Yes indeed this makes alot of sense in my ears too.It makes me think that one shouldn't exercise his rights at the expense of others and that one should know the limit of his rights,not using your rights to violate others rights forexample using your right of choice, expression and opinion to abuse someone else on social media.It also make me understand that there must be a line between my rights and the rights of others that I must respect for peace of all.All in all,I think the main message in this to respect others rights as much as we want them to respect ours, RESPECT FOR RESPECT or RIGHT FOR RIGHT. We shouldn't step on others to fulfill our desires in the disguise of exercising our rights as individuals.Tell if I have gotten the right interpretation of this!
Thank you You have encouraged me to participate in politics and elections and it has changed my mind that people should be allowed to actively participate in the politics of our country and that our voices should be heard You have really made me think that we should participate and get involved in politics we should care about the news and the politics of our country more and maybe we can be hasty push for development sustainable And I want to make an important point: that no leader or country is perfect without mistakes As for the aspect that we must respect our leaders to have a politically stable country and a good relationship between the governmentAnd the people But I want to say that there are unjust leaders and governments that we must confront without fear and in peaceful ways, and that we must from the beginning have a leader who guarantees us a decent life and that the elections are fair and just, and we have to object to unjust laws and demand our rights in a peaceful way to change the painful reality in light of social corruption And the political, and economic, and the injustice of the rulers But I have a question about how we can take a greater interest in developing our country's politics
I agree because if you are going to lead a country then you need to be respected and you can't earn respect without respecting the rules yourself. Some say "rules are made to be broken" but there is a time and place for this. When it comes to something serious like covid or war we need to know that we can trust the person in charge. A strong, well respected leader helps to keep us motivated and helps to make us feel safe and that is the most important thing. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a great example of how you can make your people feel strong enough to stand up for themselves.
In my opinion, Equality correlates to patriotism. Every person is equal in the eyes of the nation, irrespective of their religion, caste, gender, etc. A true patriot recognizes and treats fellow citizens equally.While nationalism emphasizes a unity of cultural past with inclusion of the language and heritage, patriotism is based on love towards people with a greater emphasis on values and beliefs ,Also This means that our government is elected by citizens. Here, citizens vote for their government officials. These officials represent the citizens' ideas and concerns in government. Voting is one way to participate in our democracy .
Hi, I agree with you.
The competency of our leaders, and their ability to do what's right, is a big area to consider when choosing leaders. I think it is important that a leader should be equal and fair to all, because it is the citizen's right to fair leadership. Power isn't a privilege, it's a responsibility.
We as citizens should also be patriotic, and not aid corruption in our countries.