American Democracy

Democratic countries have one significant characteristic that stands above all others. The government that rules the democracy changes hands  in an orderly and peaceful manner after the will of the people is shown through an election process where all voters are equal at the election day. We all know that there are numerous flaws in the process and individuals and groups find ways of discovering loopholes to tarnish the beautiful pure democratic process in favor of self interest.

I have been a close observer of the system in America and have been amazed at the long , expensive and tiring lead up the an election. The party system with the primaries to name people who will be eligible to carry the party banner consumes so much energy and causes positions to be taken during the process which will cause problems when the actual election takes place.

Today with the poll system in place there is little drama during the real election as pretty well everyone knows the  winner well in advance. The system is far from perfect but it is the best we have.

Today we saw President Obama take the oath of office and continue as president for the next four years. These years will be torn with strife and acrimony and he with his advisers will attempt to lead the most powerful nation in the world along a path that will lead to prosperity and peace. During these few days the nation is as one but come Tuesday and the Congress will be back at it's old ways of division and instead of working for the people they will be attempting to have their own way in the house. I was hoping that things would be different this time but we will have to wait and see.

There is always the hope that the gravity of the debt situation would bond the Congress to find a suitable solution to its grave danger that for once they would be able to use the collective strength of leadership of the whole Congress.

Living as I do half here and half in Canada I see the greatness of this nation and the problems facing any leader.President Obama will be a stronger leader this time around and I feel that the divided Republican Party will come along with him to solve the financial crisis in America.