Democracy: a dying force in United States

    In our society, where more people vote for "American Idol" than for the American president, it is easy to see democracy is slowly dying.

    It is sad to think a guiding principle that many men and women died to defend is so carelessly tossed aside in the era of the iPod and the Internet. Is American democracy a thing of the past?
    At the national level, one could easily argue no. However dismal and bleak our system is, there are still remnants of our forefathers' freedom cries echoing into the corridors on Capitol Hill.

    Statesmen still go through long and tedious campaigns that bore us, at best, to win the precious vote. Such ventures, however, are costly both of time and money, diminishing any chance of leveling the playing field.
    Yet the vote still takes place, and a representative makes decisions aimed — for the most part — at pleasing the majority of constituents.

    On the grassroots level, I'm not so convinced that democracy exists. We like to think that it surrounds us — in our community, in schools, in the workplace.

    However, this simply is just not true.

       Too many people care too little, plain and simple. "Elections" take place in these venues but participation is minimal at local levels. With many Americans having the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset, it is easy to see that little action is taken until a need arises.

        But in the meantime, the control of our community is left up to an elite group. The group claims to act in the best interest of the people, but more often than not, they are looking after themselves.

        This is a rather dangerous occurrence. From here, it is easy for a leader to arise who seems to control the group. I am sure you have all experienced these people. They are the ones who can seem to do anything they want, either by persuasion or force. Want to know the sad part? We'll let them.

        Let's face it: we have become flat-out lazy. As long as someone else does the work, we are happy as can be. By the time the situation gets drastic enough, guess what? It is too late­ — no going back.

    So there it is, the group is led by one individual. I think they have a word for that — it's dictator, which is a far cry from the democracy we claim to have and support.

    Why have we let this standard slip into this state? Laziness is a powerful foe, but the distraction of technology and a fast-paced world cannot be left out of the equation as an attribute to the downfall.

    Is democracy an idea meant to be left in history books, or is it worth protecting?
    All I know is our predecessors did not fight and die for cell phones and hard drives. They fought for freedom and equality. Would you??

Shane Oram is a sophomore in political science. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu.