What is Democracy?

What is democracy? Do we really know? We throw that word around so much, but are we even sure we know what it means?

Democracy means everyone gets a fair chance to make their voice heard; be it through your own voice, or the voice of one person elected to speak for a whole group. Democracy does not shut down the voices of the minority, because they have rights too. Without the voices of the people, democracy would fail and become something else, because that's all democracy is...It is based off of what the people want to see.

That being said, democracy has the ability to change a great deal, after all, hasn't it changed from when it was first brought into our country? If enough people see something going on in the government that they think is wrong, then they have the right, and hopefully the power to change that.

Of course, what I am saying is merely an image of a perfect world. In reality things are much different. Nowadays many people are content to go along with what politicians say, or what the media portrays, without thinking through their own ideas. An idea of a perfect democracy is compromise...Even if a majority votes for something, it should be changed a little so that the minority does not feel ignored. That's what a compromise is, but these days some people refuse to listen to the other side of the argument. Is my opinion less valued because I am a liberal? Can the opinion of a classmate be brushed aside, simply because he or she is conservative? Of course not. That's not what a democracy is.