Brian Daley Prof Doughty Political Science Oct 31 2011 Freedom and Equality in Democratic Societies

Many countries around the world see democracy as the be all end all of government. They see it as a system in which the people are ruled by the people, for the people. This is done through systematic voting of all citizens on political parties that represent the ideals that each individual associates themselves with. The ending result is a political party in power that represents what the majority of what the citizens of said country associate with. However, one must contemplate the people who did not vote for the political party in power. The minority can often become an abused group due to having inferior numbers, education or status. The freedom and equality that each human being deserves as a birthright is withheld from them or trampled on, simply because they do not agree with the platform of the political party in power. This is where democracy can become a dark, evil entity. Without developing a way for the minority to still possess their constitutional rights in such a situation, democracy can easily become one of the worst forms of government on the face of the planet. Secret arrests, incarceration without proper trial and torture of prisoners happen in many so called democratic countries around the world. Democracy is not the same thing as freedom. To have balanced freedom in a democratic society you need: Substantive rights for the minorities, limits on the power of the majority government and a legitimate voting system free of bias.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the document that gives Canadians individual rights. These rights are in place regardless of who is in government, and protects all citizens of the country, minority and majority. This is to ensure that freedom and democracy are balanced. Unfortunately, in many other countries, there is no such document. Various countries within the continent of Africa have what is considered democracy, but anyone who does not agree with the party

in power is subject to torture and death. All people are forced to vote, and there is often only one name on the ballet to vote for. This defeats the purpose of democracy and makes the people living under such a suppressive government unhappy. If a country is to have a successful democracy, the people need to ensure that they all (especially minorities who do not agree with the party in power) have substantive rights such as: Life, liberty, and property, freedom of speech and press, right to trial by jury, freedom to travel, freedom of religion, freedom to educate your children as you see fit, right to own and run your own business and the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure. With these firmly in place and respected, a democracy will become more balanced. The political party in power needs to have limits on what it can do. Or else it risks becoming an Authoritarian-style government, which is not conducive to the aim of democracy. In Canada we have several legislative bodies that need to be satisfied before any kind of major federal law can be enacted. Members of Parliament, Supreme Court, Governor-general and several others are among these. By doing this, it reduces the amount of corruption possible by splitting the responsibility of the government to the citizens among many different people with differing views. In countries where one leader of one party can pass laws easily and without question, the potential for abuse of power is greater. North Korea considers them self the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, yet there is little to no freedom for its citizens due to one party and one leader controlling everything. Also, if the majority of the people want a government that supports murder, rape, torture and theft, then in a democracy should this be allowed? It contradicts the rights of the individuals and is highly immoral. In a situation like that, even if it is what the people want, the government should not have to power to allow it. Ira Glasser, former Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, explains: "Even in a democracy the majority must be limited in order to guarantee individual rights and personal autonomy." "If whites have more votes than blacks, they cannot be allowed to deny blacks their constitutional rights. If men have more political power than women, that cannot permit them to deny women certain individual rights. Winning an election should not permit the victors to assemble their votes and enact laws or govern in a way that strips those who lose of their liberty." Governments need to be moderated in what they can and cannot do, at any point in time, regardless of what political party is in power at the time.

Bias in the voting system can easily be the downfall of a democracy. If votes are not being collected or counted fairly and accurately, then the democracy becomes inaccurate and no longer necessarily represents what the majority wants. Instead, it represents the will of the people who want to gain power regardless of votes. This can be a major issue in countries that have private corporations more wealthy than the government. The corporations can use their money to influence those on the inside of the polls and government, in order to sway the votes in their favour. This is often done if a corporation knows that by putting a certain party in power they will gain an advantage such a tax breaks. This undermines the entire system of democracy and fills it with the potential for corruption. Another example of this bias can be in countries forced to vote for a specific party, such as China. There is no other party to vote for, and attempting to overthrow or challenge the government will most likely result in death. Citizens need to ensure that voting is being carried out in a morally appropriate, unbiased way if a successful, free democracy is what they desire.

In order to achieve a truly free democracy, steps are needed to be taken. No country in the world has a perfect one yet, and it may take a while to get there. But if citizens feel that they are tired of oppression, bias, lies and immorality, they can stand up as a majority to change these things. They can put measures in place to protect the individual and strengthen the government. At the end of the day, a political party should simply be a moral mouthpiece for the majority of the country.

Work Cited Jarret Wollstein, Nov 4 2011, http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/democracy-vs-freedom.html Jacob G. Hornberger, Nov 4 2011 http://www.fff.org/freedom/0100a.asp