Democracy In a Nutshell

By : Hasyir Mursyidi

What is democracy? Why is it so popular and why there are countries which are not ruled by democratic governments are peaceful than several democratic countries? But are those countries really peaceful ? Or do we only ‘judge the book by its cover’?

Imagine you were at home, and lived in a city, a big city. One Sunday morning, when you stepped out from the house, you were seeing people start coming to the city, walking along the street, all wearing the same shirts and colors, and shouting ‘We want free education!’ ‘We want free education!’ You might say, this is madness! Why are there people like this, who always bragging about something, demanding this and that?

You might not like it, but this is democracy. It gives you a hope, an opportunity to voice everything you want and desire without worrying about consequences you might face. This is because you are protected by democracy.

You might think that this country is already in peace and the government already gives everything they could. But what if all those peaceful, good paying jobs are because of ‘those’ people who sacrifice? Because of them, we could have a good life. Of course, there are still a lot of things to fix which seems no ending. This is the reality. We will always need to step out and fight for our right! And that is why we need democracy.

Democracy is not just a question of having a vote. It consists of strengthening each citizen’s possibility and capacity to participate in the deliberations involved in life in society. -Fernando Cardoso


Hasyir is a Fellow in Lestari Hikmah and graduated in Islamic Banking.

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