Republic Representative Democracy
I will discuss the concept of a Republic, also known as a Representative Democracy. The Openstax American Government textbook describes a Democracy as a political system in which people govern themselves (pg. 8). This system can come in the form of a Representative Democracy or a Direct Democracy. Direct Democracies are ones in which the citizens themselves participate directly in making laws (pg. 14). This type of government occurred in Ancient Athens. The United States Government, on the other hand, comes in the Representative Democracy form. This means that, instead of directly creating laws, the citizens choose representatives that do this for them (pg. 13). President Donald Trump is now one of those representatives. His job is to represent
the people when making decisions and laws, according to the definition of a Representative Democracy. If he does not fulfill this, we will no longer be in a Representative Democracy. Of course, to keep this from occurring, there is a system of checks and balances set up by the Constitution.
Although President Donald Trump did not get the majority of public votes, he was elected as the President, and should be treated as such. Brian C. Thomas, an "attorney tired of the political status quo" (as stated in his blog Your Doubting Thomas), argues that the country will not be able to move forward if citizens do not support the president (Thomas 2016). I believe support for our representatives is vital if we want a Representative Democracy to function well. Now, this is not to say citizens should support all decisions made by the president. David Frum makes a good point in his video Public Indifference Is Trump's Asset on the Path to Autocracy. He argues that Donald Trump's autocratic actions may go unnoticed "for one main reason: public indifference." (Frum 2017). Unjust actions should not be blindly supported, because then our Representative Democracy will no longer be representing the citizens, but the representatives the citizens put in place. There is no one correct side to this issue. After studying the concept of a Republic, and seeing two sides of whether Donald Trump should be supported or protested, I have concluded that a tradeoff is the only answer. We must find a middle in which we support President Trump because he is our president, but also protest any unjust decisions he makes. This will ensure that the United States continues to function as a Representative Democracy.
the people when making decisions and laws, according to the definition of a Representative Democracy. If he does not fulfill this, we will no longer be in a Representative Democracy. Of course, to keep this from occurring, there is a system of checks and balances set up by the Constitution.
Although President Donald Trump did not get the majority of public votes, he was elected as the President, and should be treated as such. Brian C. Thomas, an "attorney tired of the political status quo" (as stated in his blog Your Doubting Thomas), argues that the country will not be able to move forward if citizens do not support the president (Thomas 2016). I believe support for our representatives is vital if we want a Representative Democracy to function well. Now, this is not to say citizens should support all decisions made by the president. David Frum makes a good point in his video Public Indifference Is Trump's Asset on the Path to Autocracy. He argues that Donald Trump's autocratic actions may go unnoticed "for one main reason: public indifference." (Frum 2017). Unjust actions should not be blindly supported, because then our Representative Democracy will no longer be representing the citizens, but the representatives the citizens put in place. There is no one correct side to this issue. After studying the concept of a Republic, and seeing two sides of whether Donald Trump should be supported or protested, I have concluded that a tradeoff is the only answer. We must find a middle in which we support President Trump because he is our president, but also protest any unjust decisions he makes. This will ensure that the United States continues to function as a Representative Democracy.