Students react to what Democracy really is today in the U.S.

Image of a Democracy poster with hands raised. Photo Courtesy: Autor Invitado

Students react to what Democracy really is today in the U.S.

According to Merriam Webster, democracy is a government by the people. A government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

Students from Montclair State University came forward and discussed what democracy is today and how it is represented. For some, democracy is seen as what it is defined as, but for others, the U.S. is not a democracy.

A 22-year-old Montclair State University Public Relations senior, Jennifer Panella, agreed that she does see the U.S. as a democracy. “I define democracy as the freedom and right to choose eligible members to govern our democracy,” said Panella.

Jennifer Panella’s theatre photograph back in highschool Digital Image

Debates amongst Republican and Democratic candidates have also been a huge part of what democracy is and should be for the country because debates are beneficial. “Based on the debate and information provided on news outlets, I am able to decide who I believe is best fit for different roles such as president, every vote counts,” added Panella.

Some may also use other countries as an example to the U.S. of a democracy. A Political Science major senior at Montclair State University, AJ Melillo, 21, described Athens, Greece as a democracy. “A true example is Athens, but there is no real common democracy to point to as a true democracy,” said Melillo.

Student AJ Melillo visits FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in Washington, DC. Photo By Anabella Poland

The 21-year-old believes that a democracy is a government in which it is completely run by the people. “The people directly vote upon issues pertaining to the society,” added Melillo. However, there are a few who say the U.S. is actually a republic and not a democracy. One Montclair State student spoke out about the U.S. as a republic.

Sam Carliner, a 23-year-old Journalism major, is a student that is passionate about the political climate today. Carliner, who also has a weekly News show at the University’s radio station, talks about how the U.S. can be a true democracy on his show.

Sam Carliner spending his summer in Japan Digital Image

“I don’t consider the U.S. a democracy, it’s a republic. To make it a democracy, we would need to have laws in place that give the people as a whole significant power over elected representatives,” said Carliner.

Carliner would love to see the U.S. as a democracy one day, but the time does not seem to be anytime soon. The term democracy and republic has been a long debate by many people, making it difficult to distinguish if the U.S. is a democracy or not.

Yahoo users debate whether the U.S. is a democracy or republic Photo: Yahoo answers

According to aei.gov, “Our system is republican in that the Founders understood that the public is the only legitimate sovereign of government. But it is not wholly democratic, in that they feared the abuse of that authority by the people and designed an instrument of government.”

The U.S. does not only show a democracy or a republic, but in fact, both. The different views and opinions will not give a definite answer whether the U.S. is a democracy.