Cam Bailey

For the past couple years, the world has witnessed the invention and growth of new
methods in communication. Whether intended for business, entertainment, or any of the other
facets of communication, the spread of ideas and opinions is always an underlying consequence.
The plethora of outlets for people to express and receive different opinions both widens and
deepens the understanding of news, global affairs, and politics. This expansion of avenues for
the sharing of opinions harbors the democratic belief that a governments power resides in its
people. As a whole, democracy experiences many benefits from any and all citizens ability to
contribute their opinions.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines democracy as a government in which the
supreme power is vested in the people. If the supreme power is truly vested in the people, then
their opinions should carry a supreme weight. Democracy is at its best when the people can
found their opinions and choices off a spectrum of ideas. Since all citizens now, not just
politicians, have an outlet for their ideas, the spectrum dramatically increases and diversifies,
allowing for democracy as a whole to be more successful. This definition gives a certain sense
of democracy relying on strength in numbers. In a purely quantitative sense, citizens have more
authority than they might realize. The people in which democracys true power is vested are the
spectrum itself, in the sense that each person can have an effect on the way a nation thinks and
acts. Considering the weight each citizen carries and likewise their opinions, each person plays a
role in fulfilling the fundamental aspects of democracy, whether we realize it or not.
During his Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln commented on what he
believed to be the most important aspect of the United States government. In the final line of the
historic address, Lincoln labeled the government as a government of the people, by the people,
for the people. Even in the original context of a war time speech given after one of the

Cam Bailey
bloodiest battles of the Civil War, Lincoln made a lasting impression about how people should
think about their democratic government. In all aspects, democracy should be about the people.
Regardless of the expression of opinions, this still places the greatest emphasis and value on the
ideas and opinions of citizens themselves. Now with all the modern communication methods
factored in, the opinions of citizens can take full effect. News, information and different ideas
can shape current opinion in a Darwinian sense. People will alter their opinions on a subject
after seeing its success or failure or even the validity of another perspective. In a world where
only the fittest survive, the responsibility falls on people to fix their government, not the
government to fix its people. Above all, Lincoln points of the prevalence of people, and
therefore their beliefs, in the successes of democracy.
Recently, I attended a lecture during my time at the Governors School for Humanities at
Radford University about the polarization of the internet. At this lecture, the professor
questioned the personalization aspect of the internet and social media, both of which without
many peoples knowledge actually tailor the results of a search or news feed. These internet
giants only show the results which they think the searcher or social media user wants to see
based on prior internet history and activity. The gist of his argument pointed out the flaws of
web polarization and the negative effects it could be having on government. And his reasoning
made sense, if people are not exposed to opinions or beliefs different from their own, they will
never be inclined to change their opinion. For the better, politicians and average citizens alike
should shed new light onto each other in the pursuit of finding the most correct answer to the
governments problems. The division of interests and ideals seen on the internet will never
expose citizens to an equal ground, leaving a severe gap in the spectrum of opinions. He
concluded that in order for citizens opinions to change and improve, each individual must be

Cam Bailey
exposed to every side, every color of the spectrum. And the only way for this to occur is the
continued reflection and absorption of opinions through the news and media.
However, one might think that some opinions might prove detrimental to the success of
democracy, that quite possibly many citizens are ill equipped to make judgements and that their
opinions prove toxic and hazardous. In fact, many citizens are grossly ignorant to the workings
of government or simply do not care enough to inform themselves and make educated decisions.
But these few outliers have no real effect on their fellow people. People who are truly conscious
of their place in democracy will realize invalidity of the ignorant and can properly disregard their
opinions. These outliers are too few and too detached from the rest of the people for them to
change public opinion or government decisions.
Democracy has thrived in some form or another since its conception among the Greek
city states. As time passes by, those cultures with governments founded on the fundamentals of
democracy have proved to be the exemplification of human achievement. But it is through the
basic ideals of democracy that it has found success. The people whom a government assumes
authority over are the same people which run the government. And this is where the expression
of ideas and opinions plays such a key role. In todays world, with growing communication
systems, news outlets and social media, the opinions of every day citizens are accessible
everywhere. In fact, it is impossible to avoid. However, this range of opinions, or a spectrum
rather, gives the truest consensus of the governed body. The ability of citizens to express their
opinions embodies the values of democracy, and this expression among all avenues of
communication will continue to deepen its beneficial effect on government.