When we think of our voting rights and freedoms, it is interesting to think where did this come from? We as the people have the power in our hands as a democracy. Of course things throughout time have changed, but understanding our democracy and why we are thankful for it, can help empower us. So how did the ancient Greeks influence us here in the U.S, and why are we thankful for a democracy?
National Geographic explains, “The United States has a complex government system. One important tenet of this system is democracy, in which the ultimate power rests with the people” (National Geographic, 2019). This is something we take for granted here and I know many people who do not take advantage of voting, or even follow anything that is going on politically. I think it’s very important to understand we are lucky to have a democracy where we have more rights as people, especially compared to other countries around the world.
Democracy came from the ancient Greeks which first influenced Europe and spread to our western civilization. In 1776 after England declared their independence, The U.S and their founders found a perfect opportunity to make the government of their choosing. They followed through and took the best examples of a government throughout history. The founders of the United States were given a special opportunity to create a government of their choosing. This was a significant task the founders possessed, and for guidance they looked to what they believed the best philosophies and examples of governments throughout world history. The democratic ancient Greek and roman model is what highly influenced the construction of the United States government that we have today (National Geographic, 2019).
We resemble many aspects of their influence including city-states, following laws, and the written constitution. The best influence and opportunity we had however, was to pick the way our country would be founded. This gave us the beauty of democracy and leads to fairness, equality, and the inclusion of everyone. With democracy we are able to say we want reform, stand together, and have a voice. As we go through our lives with this freedom, we should be thankful of the great structure behind the ancient Greeks and how that influenced the manufacture of our United States government.
References
National Geographic Society. (2019, March 15). Greek Influence on U.S. Democracy. Retrieved November 12, 2019, from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/greek-influence-us-democracy/.
Ancient Greek Democracy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2019, from https://sites.google.com/site/ancientgreekdemocracyca/.