The Contours of American Democracy

 Learning about the outline of the American Government as well as about other government structures within the world other than democracy was very informative. I agree with the text that "People are not perfect. People need an organized form of government and a set of rules by which to live. ... They would need to create a process for making rules and a form of government to enforce those rules." (pg.3, Sidlow). Similar to the text, I can see that each community needs set, agreed upon principles to protect the society as a whole. I also believe that government is not only essential for the community but for the individual as well. For an individual to be able to function well in society and feel as if their rights are protected. Examples of this is an individual feeling protected after someone damages their property (regardless the reason a person is angry enough to damage property in the first place)and being able to report it and get justice without having to be violent back. Another example is law protecting an individual with a disability by allowing them to have an service animal regardless of a landlord's pet policy. These circumstances warrant protection and a government system can help protect the individuals quality of life as much as it protects the quality of a society. 

America is a unique country because it is filled with different cultures, religions, ethnicity and as the text suggested, the government is really the only "agreed upon" principles that our country's people have. I never understood the clear difference between politics and government. Sidlow defines politics and the process of resolving conflicts in society pertaining to public resources while government is made up of people and institutions that create and uphold societies rules. Though I  have heard in the past that democracy came into existence thousands of years ago such as in Athens, Greece, I did not know there were different forms of democracy (direct democracy, representative democracy, presidential democracy, parliamentary democracy). The principles of American democracy were characterized by Sidlow as five fundamental principles: equality in voting, individual freedom, equal protection of the law, majority rule and minority rights, and voluntary consent to be governed. Aligned with these principles are the ideas of liberty and equality that Americans value and are willing to fight for. As I read the text, I can agree those five principles encompass the American dream however I do not yet see that our current political state reflects those governmental goals because there are still minorities in our country that are fighting for our government to uphold those principles for them.