Blog Post #1

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, a democracy is “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.” As you can see, the source of power in a democracy comes from the people. In a democracy, each person has equal opportunity to vote for the leader that they want in office. I feel that because our Founding Fathers decided to include certain democratic principles when constructing the basis for the American government system, they ended up setting the framework for America’s success as a nation. I feel that if America was built on any different form of government, we would not be as successful as we are today.

Democracy, in the case of Benazir Bhutto and Nelson Mandela, was not the primary form of government in their respected nations. They both faced many trials while attempting to set up democracy in Pakistan and South Africa. They both believed that democracy was the best form of government and they both risked their lives to bring democracy to their nations. As stated in the excerpt from Mandela, “The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity. When I walked out of prison, that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both.” So as you can see, Nelson Mandela cared about the well-being of all people, and his goal was to give everyone a government where everyone has a voice.

In both cases, Bhutto and Mandela were seen as political enemies to their countries. During Benazir Bhutto’s fight to bring democracy to Pakistan, she was imprisoned, exiled, and even removed from office as Prime Minister; but she kept on fighting for the government she believed in even if it she could lose her life. The same was true with Nelson Mandela. He was imprisoned for twenty-seven years, but as soon as he was released, he got back to work on bringing democracy to South Africa and eventually served as President of South Africa. I feel that the Nelson Mandela and Benazir Bhutto’s individual fights for democracy could be likened to Donald Trump’s presidency today. For instance, Bhutto always faced opposition from people that did not agree with her, similar to how Donald Trump has people who criticize every decision that he makes. Yes I know that the opposition that Mandela and Bhutto faced (prison, exile, fear for their lives, etc) was way more severe than the opposition that Trump faces, but I could plainly see the similarities between these situations and I had to compare the two.

In the cases of Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, democracy was not shown in a good light. Even though America’s government would most likely be described as a democracy, not everyone gets to experience the same privileges as another person. This showed in Frederick Douglass’s time with slavery, and it showed in Dr. King’s time with the discrimination and complete disregard of rights that were shown to African Americans. In both cases, they were fighting to bring equal rights to African Americans. I found this quote from Dr. King’s letter interesting, he states, “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The urge for freedom will eventually come. This is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom; something without has reminded him that he can gain it” (4, Letter from Birmingham Jail). This quote shows that Dr. King wanted to encourage African Americans to stand up for their rights and go obtain them. Both Dr. King and Frederick Douglass were excellent writers and they used their abilities effectively to help spread their cause and what they believed in.

Writing can be an effective form of activism because there are so many platforms on which you can write about your views. Whether it be a news article or posting your views on your Twitter feed, there are many ways to share your views on things that you feel can be changed in the world. I feel that writing is very important for a person fighting for democracy or civil rights because, like I said earlier, there are so many ways for you to write and express your views on things that need to be changed, you just need to use your resources effectively.

Works Cited

“Democracy.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy.