Selection and interpretation of textual references

¶ … Democracy

In author Jacques Ranciere's book On the Shores of Politics, he discusses what he believes are the important concepts in understanding democracy and how it is used by people. Most importantly in the chapter "The Uses of Democracy" is his belief that true democracy has yet to be envisioned. In the United States and other countries, as time progresses the nations which are built upon democratic systems of government move further away from the principles of that government's founding. After the fall of Communist regimes, the supremacy of the democratic viewpoint seems to have been strengthened but in reality the situation is only becoming more divisive, at least according to Ranciere's perspective. The differences between democracy as ideal and democracy in practice is growing with the advent of "liberal democracy" which itself demands a reorganization and reprioritizing of democratic ideals based on growing concern for individuals.

The word democracy itself means that it is a government of the people going back to the Ancient Greeks with Athenian democracy. More important perhaps than the freedom which democracy promises are the establishments of a political community and a style of life based upon the governance. In the United States which is a representative democracy rather than a true one, the belief that the citizens are freer than people in other nations of the world creates an identity on a national level. Anyone who is born in the United States has a particular part of their individual identity associated with being part of the so-called "land of the free." The formulation of identity, Ranciere argues is one of the most important aspects of democracy. Therefore, the democracy is not only divisive among political lines but also uniting in a way because it creates a singular republic of individual perspectives.

Those who use the democratic system for progression and elevation of the self in the political field must utilize words and rhetorical devises in order to convince others that their faith should be placed in a specific candidate. Ranciere states that to be considered a democratic person, then the politician must be able to utilize words and language. This has become more prevalent in the modern era where the strict understanding of democracy has been blurred and modulated to make way for the new ideas and perceptions of the time. Propaganda and rhetoric are a major part of modern politics and indeed have been integral to politics throughout history going back to at least Julius Caesar and the speeches of Marc Anthony and Brutus following Caesar's assassination. The ability to use words and speak convincingly is necessary in any form of government, but particularly in a democracy where the politician needs to convince the people to give them support.

In the current time, people believe that they are more political educated than their predecessors. Ranciere states that in his time, they did not read the texts of proposed legislation and for the most part did not discuss potential laws or politicians running for office; at least this was the case until the 1960s during the time of great political upheaval with issues such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. When students became involved in politics, the form of democracy changed as did the way in which the governmental system was participated in by the people of the country.