Essay Example on the Role of Civility in Sustaining Democracy

Democracy is fundamental to any given society as it gives people the power to express their opinions and exercise their rights without any alteration. Through democracy; people can listen to each other's opinions, contribute towards the important aspects, and make significant decisions that impact the society on a positive note. However, democracy is faced with numerous challenges that continue to affect how things are run in the society. One of these challenges is the civility factor which determines whether or not a community will observe the presence of democracy. Civilized countries such as the U.S tend to uphold democracy while the uncivilized countries tend to overlook this vital aspect and see no importance in it.

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Civility enables individuals to gain essential communication skills that enhance their ability to express what they think and how they feel towards particular issues that affect the whole community. Once people are civilized, they have a full understanding on how to socialize with each other without any difficulties. Therefore, civility plays a significant role in sustaining democracy and social interactions within a community. It also promotes political improvements as people can install competent and capable leaders hence resulting in developments within the given state. For instance, the U.S people were able to make a collective decision based on their interests and elected President Barrack Obama despite his African ethnicity. Both civilization and democracy can go a long way in ensuring that competent people in society are given a chance to induce improvements in various sectors.

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Many authors have discussed the importance of civility in enhancing democracy in the society. These authors have tried to draw a differentiating line between the traditional cultures and the civilized societies. Political analysts such as Stephen Carter have expressed various opinions in regards to both political and social interactions in the community. Carter insinuates that an uncivilized community cannot observe even the simplest rules of democracy hence political leaders are elected by dubious means. According to him, such events occur as a result of people being reluctant to exercise their democratic rights hence creating a loop for malicious activities. Civility is a central aspect that facilitates the growth of democracy in societies hence governments should promote civilization if perhaps; they want to improve the social, political, and economic status of their states. Through civility, every person will have an insight of what is expected of them and will be able to promote both national and global developments.

Enlightened and exposed individuals tend to have the courage to protest whenever their democratic rights are infringed on thus putting the ruling governments under watch, (Stephen Carter, pg.1). Civility also helps to truncate wrongful doings in society such as taking shortcuts in achieving certain objectives. For instance, ignoring the security rules on a mall can seem like a simple act but is significant in ensuring both your safety and other occupants in the building. Civilized people always observe even the slightest rules and regulations and this trait helps to prevent possible harms to society. To illustrate its impact of in our societies, we can all compare countries that are full of resources but lack democracy and countries that have little but enjoy democracy. Countries that lack this essential factor are far behind regardless of their natural wealth due to lack of effective leadership and corruption. Zimbabwe falls perfectly under this category as President Mugabe has forcefully clinched to power despite being unproductive.

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Democracy guides personal actions and individual behavioral traits hence promoting a community of law abiding citizens, (Herbst Susan, pg.2). Ever been to a country where you cannot publicly exercise your freedom of speech for fear of victimization? This is a case of countries that lack democracy and are governed by dictatorial regimes. This is a big challenge as people allow themselves to be subjected to harsh and unlawful treatments by accepting to be intimidated by rogue individuals who can do just anything to obtain and retain power. Democratic leaders act within the provision of the respective laws and abstain from doing things that will violate their constitutions. On the lower side of the coin, dictators assume that they are above the law and can do anything regardless of whether or not it is within the governing laws. This has seen many people suffer under the governments of rogue leaders while the public watch remains reluctant to protest due to their nature of being uncivilized.

Civility facilitates the eradication of certain factors that drag communities into destructive and criminal acts in society. For instance, every human has a democratic right to vote provided that they have attained the legal age as stated by the constitution. Some leaders have their hands in foul play to deny people from certain regions this vital right through dubious methods. They manipulate the relevant institutions in corrupt dealings to delay the registration of people to increase their winning probability. However, they cannot succeed in civilized regions as people will protest and condemn any fraudulence acts that aim to deny them their democratic rights, unlike the uncivilized regions. To conclude, civility is significant in upraising democracy in any given state and results in numerous benefits to people regardless of their political stand. It promotes fair treatment and equality by ensuring that people exercise their democratic rights.

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Works Cited

Journals

Herbst, Susan. Civility and Incivility in American Politics. Philadelphia:Temple UP, 2010. Print.

Carter, Stephen. Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette od Democracy. New York: Yale, 1998.