Democracy Is The Ability To Disagree

There is a power, a law, a force, and an idea which attempts, through the frailties of our far too human nature, to bring order, equality, justice, peace, and prosperity to all or as many as possible in the system in which it is exercised. This is called democracy. Very often, it does not always work. Why? It is because we are often weak, corrupt and violent, but democracy itself, the practice of it in its most selfless nature, has shown to produce extraordinary results. The greatest general results of democracy are freedom and liberties. Freedom, as I see it, is the ability to practice our liberties, and liberties are the rights and values instituted as “inalienable” and available to all true “citizens.” To say democracy ensures freedom is a nice idea, but practically it does not always work, even if it should in theory. One of the greatest examples in history of democracy working at least somewhat successfully in reality is the Constitution of the United States of America. It is my understanding that the Constitution grants me, a privileged “citizen”, the freedom to practice one of the most significant liberties afforded to anyone within a democratic system: the ability to disagree. As much as I love the United States and its democracy, there are things within both that I fiercely disagree with, and that very democracy grants me the right to do so. I have the right to believe in God or scoff at the very notion. I have the right to trust in the government or be cynical and apathetic. I do not have the right to hurt someone else, but we are capable to war over ideas. Now I don’t think that an intelligent person should cause a war over an idea if they cannot propose a better one, but the very ability to have dissent is a start towards balance and understanding. This ability to disagree, to not care, to hate the workings of government, to express myself verbally, artistically and sexually without causing legitimate harm, and to say “Fuck the Constitution! Fuck God! Fuck America! And Fuck Democracy!”, is, in my humble opinion, and gloriously, wonderfully, righteously, and fantastically, what democracy is.