The ancient Greeks invented democracy, some 2500 years ago. They did direct democracy, all the citizens gathered in the Agora and voted on such issues as going to war over Corcyra (which kicked off the Peloponnesian War) or the disastrous expedition to conquer Syracuse on Sicily. Direct democracy is great in principle, but it doesn't scale well (you cannot gather all the citizens of the Roman empire together in one place) and is liable to make poor (disastrous) decisions.
The British invented representative democracy with the institution of Parliament. Each member of Parliament represented all the British subjects of his district. We Americans picked up the idea in colonial times. All the thirteen colonies had representative legislatures by the time of the revolution. So long as the representatives are honest, and truly represent their districts it is a fair system. If the chosen representatives fail to vote in accordance with their district's wishes, it is a corrupt system.
I am running for a seat in the New Hampshire senate. Should I be elected, I will vote the way my district wants, and not the way I may want. As a senator, my duty and my honor call for me to truly represent my district, rather than my personal desires.
1 comment:
Good luck in your run!
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