Democracy Essay Example for Free

Democracy Essay In its simplest term, democracy literally means the rule of the people. It came from the Greek word â€Å"demos† which means people and â€Å"kratos† which means rule. (â€Å"Democracy†) The term democracy was first coined in Ancient Greece. Democracy in Greece was understood to mean the selection of ordinary citizens to government office and courts and the assembly of all the citizens. Through the years, however, democracy as a form of government has evolved into a complex form of government. Despite the changes the concept has undergone, it still espouses the principles of popular sovereignty, political equality, popular consultation and the majority rule. (Austin Ranney, 1995) This essay is concerned with presidential democracy as a form of government. I aim to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the presidential system. In the concluding part, I will take a stand on this issue. The Advantages of Presidential System It is the essence of every presidential democracy that the three main powers of government are constitutionally divided into thee different departments. Read more: How does big states vs small states guard against tyranny essay The three departments are: a) the legislative branch; b) executive branch; and c) judicial branch. The legislative branch has the power to propose, enact, amend and repeal the law. The executive branch has the power to execute the law. The judiciary has the power to interpret the law. The doctrine of concentration of powers is intended to prevent a concentration of authority in one person or group of persons that might lead to an error or abuse to the prejudice of the whole state. It is believed that any concentration of powers in a single branch is tyrannical and only true separation of powers will protect the liberties of the people against the aggressions of government. (Austin Ranney, p. 240) Moreover, the essence of presidential democracy does not only lie in the constitutional separation of powers but it also lies in the system of checks and balances. The separation of powers in the three branches of government is not synonymous to isolation. In the words of Justice Frankfurter in the case of Connally v. Scudder (160 N.  E. 655), he states that while it is desirable that thee be a certain degree of independence among the several constitutional agencies, it is not in the public interest for them to deal with each other at arm’s length or with a hostile jealousy of their respective rights as this might result in frustration of the common objectives of the government. This means that in reality, these three departments actually share their powers for the purpose of establishing a system by which one department could resist encroachment made by another department. Although there is a separation of powers in a democracy, one department is given the prerogative to check whether another department is exceeding its power and prerogative. For example: the Executive department has the constitutional prerogative to check the power of the Legislative branch to make laws by exercising its veto power. This means that the president of a country has the power not to sign into law or veto a particular bill passed by the legislative branch if the president, thinks that the law is not proper e. g. f the law is not timely. The same is true for the legislative branch of government which has the constitutional prerogative to check on the powers of the president by means of the procedure known as impeachment. The same is true with the President who has the constitutional prerogative to check on the functions of the Judiciary. For example, the president has the power to grant amnesty and pardon to those already convicted and have undergone the process in the judiciary. Another essence of democracy lies in the Rule of Majority. This is best manifested in the process known as election by which the people, in accordance with the principle of popular sovereignty, have the power to choose which among the candidates will govern them for a limited period of time. Disadvantage of Presidential System Though the presidential system may have its advantages, one main objection to this system is the delays caused by too much political conflict and gridlock between the President, Senate and the House of Representatives. Several times in the past that needed legislations have been delayed and blocked because of the political bickering that is always inherent in a Presidential system. It must be stressed that laws are passed to address the concerns of the people. If the passage of laws will be delayed because of the disagreements between the executive and the legislative then the people are the ones who will suffer. Conclusion The democracy is adopted by many countries including the United States. I think presidential democracy is better than the other forms of government. Though it has also its weakness, it is only in a democracy where there is a better balance between the powers of the government and the right of the people. It is this balance that ensures that those in the government will not abuse their powers that the constitution has granted to them. It is also this balance that ensures that the people will not abuse their sovereignty. The fusion of the two essential powers of government such as the power to execute laws and to make and amend laws in the hands of a single person will expose the whole state and the citizenry to the possibility that those in power will abuse their position.

Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom Essay -- essays research

Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom This isn’t technically a book that I read when I was in the properly defined age group, but looking back at this book it is probably the book that has had the largest impact on my life, and had it been out when I was younger would have been a book that I would have read. I read this book after I had finished reading Tuesdays with Morie by the same author. Now I have read a lot of books in my life and I can’t think of one that has had a more profound affect on me than The Five People you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is the story of a man named Eddie who for almost his whole life was the maintenance man at an amusement park called Ruby Pier. The story starts with the end of Eddie’s life on Earth and the beginning of his journey through heaven. The basic story wasn’t what got to me, it was the lessons Eddie learns along the way as he meets the five people he was to meet in heaven.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the book we are introduced to people from his past, some he knew and some were just a glimpse in his life. They all had something that they had to teach Eddie about life. Each had a different lesson that Eddie needs to understand before he can move on in heaven.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first person that Eddie meets was a member of the freak show his name was Joseph Corvelzchchik, and he was known as the â€Å"blue man† and I think that out of all the people Eddie meets he has the most thought provoking quotes. The blue man died when ...

Discuss the Impact of Newly Industrialised Countries

Geography Past Paper Question: June 10 * Discuss the impact of Newly Industrialised countries (NICs) on the global economy. The NICs originally attracted a lot of inward investment such as FDI from TNC's which originated from MEDCs. The reasons were that NICs had a large labour force which worked for cheap wages. They also had cheap land, friendly govt legislations, cheap available raw materials and reduced import and export tariffs. The manufacturing industry was first to move and so the NICs became more focused on the secondary sector while the source countries (MEDCs) became tertiary sector economies.This is a disadvantage for most of the MEDCs as they will face periods of structural unemployment where the unskilled workers who could only do manufacturing work will be unable to find jobs. The NICs will have reduced unemployment since a lot of jobs will be made available; requiring low levels of work based skills. On the other hand, due to the lower costs of production for the TNCs , they will be able to sell products for cheaper prices and so this will benefit the global economy.It will also benefit the NICs as they will face increased demand for their services and their population would face glowing job prospects. After a while, the NICs tend to become countries where TNCs originate from. Examples of this could include â€Å"TATA† from India which operates in many sectors such as communications and information technology, engineering, energy, consumer products and chemicals. TATA are now trying to move out of India as it is becoming increasingly expensive to operate in the country. They are moving to other developing countries such as Brazil and Mexico who are now considered as NICs themselves.According to Rostow's model, we can see that most NICs will go through the stages of specialisation and industrialisation after which they will start to not rely on investment and imports from other countries. The Asian tigers have already gone through the stage s and now are able to provide for themselves rather than relying on investment. China and India are currently receiving growing investment but a few TNCs from those countries have started to outsource from other countries who are in the transitional stages such as Brazil.China and India will soon become developed countries such as the Asian Tigers and the focus will then shift to the other ‘BRICS' countries. To conclude, NICs have a largely positive impact on the global economy as they enable TNCs to provide goods and services for cheaper prices to international markets. On the other hand TNCs cause increased unemployment in the country they move production from. However, most of the affects are positive as NICs are allowed to become developed countries in the long term and new countries can then go through the same process such as India and Brazil respectively.

The Main Pastimes Of The Civil War - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1539 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/05/18 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Civil War Essay War Essay Did you like this example? When you imagine what life as a Civil War soldier would be like you think of the things that they had to suffer through and all the pain that came with it, but what about the times when they werent fighting during the Civil War, some free time was spent with small groups of friends huddled around the fire (Frank 512). Times they spent with one another created a bond and help create a sense of nationalism. The main pastimes of the Civil War consisted of the following: Gambling , sports, whittling, making music, and letter writing. One pastime soldiers enjoyed during the Civil War was gambling. Gambling was a great way of distracting the soldiers from the anxiety and boredom and it required little to no physical effort and a great source of entertainment. Which made it extremely popular among the soldiers and helped create a bond with one another. In fact 9 out of 10 gambled. One recruit even wrote to his father a young man cannot guard himself too closely in camp where to be considered an accomplished gentlemen it is necessary to be a scientific and successful gambler (Murphy 59). There were multiple ways in which the soldiers could gamble including buying raffle tickets for a nickel, drawing tickets from hats, betting on horses, cock fights, wrestling, boxing, raffles, even fights and races with the soldiers. They got barely any money which made the stakes pretty low, such as five dollars, a chicken, buttons, corn kernels, and matches (Frank 512). Some people believed that gambling was a great way to past the time however it got too intense and resulted into arguments or fights over things like losing or cheating (Frank 315). Ministers and priests often read from the Bible wanting them to repent for their sins but they got irritated with the service and went back to gambling (Frank 513). Ulysses S. Grant the commanding general of the union army, was a card player all throughout his life especially in the war as well as Abraham Lincoln another former president who like Grant learned at a young age. Lincoln learned when sailing a flatboat carrying produce from Illinois to New Orleans (Harris). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Main Pastimes Of The Civil War" essay for you Create order Another pastime during the Civil War was Sports. One of the sports that they played was baseball. In their spare time soldiers helped transform the game of baseball from a pastime in a small area to a national obsession. Abner Doubleday, a soldier in the civil war was given credit to inventing this game but it turns out that was untrue. Abner never claimed to have anything to do with baseball and he was in WestPoint in 1839 at the time when the game was supposedly invented (Who Invented). During the war the balls were made out of old shoe leather, socks, or woolen uniforms material stuffed with soft material and sewn together. They used carved out tree limbs or wooden posts for bats. The game was so popular in christmas during the war in 1862 40,000 spectators attended the game between the 165th New York volunteer regiment and another team including A.G. mils who would later become president of the Nation League when it was formed in 1876 (Baseball). Ninety-one former players of the Brooklyn Excelsior enlisted into the Union Army. One member, physician A.T. Pearsall, joined the Confederate side. When these men left for the war, they brought New York baseball with them, laying the foundation for an explosion of baseballs popularity during the Civil War (Frank 490). More athletic activities included wrestling, boxing, leapfrog, racing on foot or horseback, and horseracing, cricket, and in rare occasions they bowled using cannonballs to knock down rough wooden pins. Whittling was another way to past the time, it wasnt a popular hobby until the war in 1865. Not all soldiers enjoyed this pastime or had the skill to pursue it but the soldiers who did enjoy it and have the skill would carve items such as figurines, sculptures, smoking pipes, fans, whistles, and ball in a cage out of things like bone, wood, and other materials they could find. A common item that was made was chess pieces, Lieutenant colonel Robert J. Lawrence of the 14th mississippi was captured in Fort Donelson TN. on February 1862. Lawrence was lucky enough to be exchanged for another prisoner in October but when he was a prisoner he stole firewood to carve a chess set out of mapple and black walnut and used broken glass and a pocket knife. (Whittling). Another man, a member of John Hunt Morgans raiders made a knife out of beef bone when he was in Fort Delaware and william hayes took it home with him. The knife has bumpy handle with crosshatch designs (Whittling). Whittling requi res skilled hands and a lot of free time but in the end it makes beautiful soldier art. Not only did the soldiers whittle but Europeans and British as well along with most of the commanding officers including General Grant who was enlisted (Gettysburg). Music was also an important part of the War. The soldiers found comfort in singing and creating music as well as using instruments such as drums, guitar, banjos, fiddles that they made out of wooden cigar boxes, fifes, bugles and harmonicas. There were drummer boys who served during the Civil War that were too young to fight but wanted to help the soldiers and ended up doing so on both sides, although some didnt realize it at first. It kept the soldiers motivated, providing a beat for marching drills or just communicating to the soldiers that meals were ready. One twelve year old boy wrote But i was very small and they would not give me a musket. The next day i went back and the man behind the desk said i looked as if i could hold a drum and if i wanted i could join that way. I did, but i was not happy to change a musket for a stick (Murphy 39). Some of the young boys couldnt handle the life of the war and got homesick. To help with that they often used singing to help express their feeling like one southerner J.B. Lance of Buncombe county, North Carolina who was tired of life away from home. Lance wrote to his father Father i have saw a rite smart of the world since i left home but i have not saw any place like Buncombe and henderson yet (Murphy 29). Musical duels between the two sides were common, as they heard each other across the countryside both sides deuel with a song one night which turned out to be the night of the battle of stones rivers which turned into both sides singing Home! Sweet! Home! together as one. Kenneth A. Bernard called the war between the states a musical war, so when soldiers marched into the war they took their love of music with them and broke down the walls between them. Music passed the time and entertained but most importantly brought back memories of home and family. It also create a sense of nationalism. Bernard said In camp and hospital they sang sentimental songs and ballads, comic songs and patriotic numbers.The songs were better than rations or medicine (Bernerd). Lastly letter writing was a common pastime. Soldiers wrote letters home to family, friends, and loved ones and wrote about how they were doing and much they missed them and wanted to come home. Mail service for the union soldiers was time efficient during the war but the confederates never fully delivered the mail because of the confederate government but they made an effort to deliver the mail best they could so they could get the letter back as soon as possible in rain, sleet, or gloom of the night(Murphy 55). Some of the soldiers were not literate and could barely write their name but most spell things how they sounded for exampleeven the Sargints is holleren at you and the man in youre reer is cumplaning of youre gun not been held up rite . The conditions such as the lack of food concerned the women and often begged their loved ones to come back home. An Alabama wife wrote to her husband, imploring him to come home. We have got nothing in the house to eat but a little bit of meal If you put off acomin, ?twont be no use to come, for well all hands of us be out there in the grave yard with your ma and mine. Young boys in the war often wrote about duty, honor and courage as shown in this letter to the boys mother Deuty while in the noble army of Northern Va and if I were to desert and lie out of this Struggle as many are doing I could not go any where but that the Eys of man and Woman would look at me I would feel worse than a Sheep killing dog. Letter writing in the Civil War took on different aspects for the men whod left their homes, their wives and children, and their families. It kept them grounded and helped them to stay connected to the people they loved. Thousands of the letters still exist today, treasured by the descendants of Civil War soldiers.