It was an enormous gathering of 0.8 million Americans cheering, shouting and airing flags with zeal and anxiousness worth seeing, waiting for Obama’s inauguration 2nd term historic speech and renewed assurances subsequent to oath taking ceremony. Tens of thousands of people who streamed towards the Mall on Monday, all on foot, some with small children in push chairs or elderly people in wheelchairs, solely for the chance of catching a glimpse of Obama from a distance of up to a mile away. It was a stunning sight of democratic succession.
Obama being an eloquent speaker succeeded drawing the attention of many viewers across the globe most of whom are earnest to learn the President’s new plan of action for the current term and expected variations in the foreign policies. The Americans who entrusted him with the power no doubt were to foresee a more developed and problem free America in the time to come. It is evident that US President strived hard averting the financial breakdown and military adventurism the legacy of former president in his previous term. Ascending to presidency for another term is more challenging having kept the volume of huge undertakings in consideration, in the world’s largest democracy.
Throughout his speech, Obama drew on past words of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King; he invoked the Southern civil rights movement, and then broadened his reach to include the modern struggles of women’s causes, voting rights, immigration reform and marriage equality.
The military invasion on Iraq and Afghanistan cost US a lot. There was massive allocation of funds for the combat missions underway in the two countries. Certainly that carved a grave impact on America’s economy, worst affecting all endeavors of economical progressions, entailing education, health and business. He consequently, predicted of a shift in the old practiced unyielding policy replaced with a progressive one saying, “An unapologetically progressive agenda will be pursued that defends the poor and middle class, protects social safety nets and promises new directions on global warming and national security. This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America's possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.”
In another stance, Barak Obama reaffirmed the essence of provisions of democratic values associated to national cohesion and integrity enrooted on the strong foundations of equal rights protected in constitution, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
After a successive US backed regime changes in Middle Eastern countries, Obama’s laid conditions for US’s multifaceted support to democratic systems, might be intimation for the part of world still stuck to tyrannical and authoritarian rules. He said, “America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice — not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.” It was a spectacular demonstration of Obama’s accession to presidency and gorgeous manifestation of US democratic transition and politics.
Undoubtedly, United States is the champion of democracy and is seen as first liberal democracy. The United States Constitution, adopted in 1788, provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties. On the American frontier, democracy became a way of life, with widespread social, economic and political equality. The system gradually evolved, from Jeffersonian Democracy or the First Party System to Jacksonian Democracy or the Second Party System. In Reconstruction after the Civil War (late 1860s) the newly freed slaves became citizens, and they were given the vote as well.
The system of democracy as practiced in America holds several principles in high regard, and as such, qualifies it to being referred to as a democracy.
These are: the rule of law, inalienable human rights and freedoms, a separation of powers between the three arms of government, a representative system that makes laws and acts as a check and balancing point for the executive, the judiciary that polices over the general population and the legislature, a responsive government, a civil society freedoms, citizen and political equality, and universal suffrage. The American political system creates an opportunity where interest groups can compete for power. This party-based system is the basis of competition for legislative and executive mandate by the elite in the democracy system (only a few people are elected to represent voters and are thus known as the democracy elite).
This system is manifested through periodic elections where two political parties Republican and Democrats contest election. Elections are the means by which the citizenry assesses the democratic leadership: the voters may punish or reward the leadership depending on if they were responsive to their demands or if they were responsible in their leadership. Since elections occur only in cycles, the civil society and a free press are important components of the democratic system: they challenge malpractices and expose bad leadership.
The judiciary polices over the other arms of the government: instances of where the Supreme Court ruled that a particular Executive policy or Congressional law was illegal are countless. Indeed, democracy is a rule by the law. As such, everybody and every institution are at the behest of the law and no one can act in contravention of it without a punitive measure. Despite this, penal punishment cannot be exacted without following due process: the accused has rights and these are protected through a fair trial process. Furthermore, every citizen has inalienable rights, many of which are revolutionary in the American context. There are social, economic, and political rights and demand that nobody should be discriminated against for any reason, be it race, religion, or any other standard of discrimination. Though the people are the supreme source of power, they are not allowed to reject the authority of the government. Additionally, every citizens should practice own rights and freedoms without unjustly interfering with that of others. These are the premises of democracy that are evident in the American democratic model.