A Reflection Assignment

Democracy: What are YOUR thoughts?

In a democracy, the “people,” or the majority of the people, have control over what decisions are
made and how they are made. To date, democracy has been put into practice in many countries all
over the world and has developed into many different forms.

Your Assignment
Read the quote written below. As you read it, consider what it means to you. In a one-page, well-
written composition, explain what this quote means to you and whether or not you agree or disagree
with it. Be sure to fully explain your answer.
“People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people.
Of course, this is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard
and who vote – a very different thing.”
Walter H. Judd

As you reflect and write, make sure that you fully explain and expand upon your ideas/opinions. A
reflection that simply states your answers to the above questions and does not provide a rationale or
reason for them has not had much thought or effort put into it.

I greatly appreciate the quote, as it speaks about the reality of democratic system. It is
true that decisions are made by the majority of people, but the fact is, decisions are
made by the people who voted, actively participated in the process. This means that
people engage in the society issues/activities, decision, and then vote according to
their ideologies. For instance, Canada has a population of 39,107,046 people, and
there are elections in a week. Every Canadian citizen is thinking about which party
should be winning, whereas not deciding for which to vote. After a week, on the voting
day, 16,774,498 people went to vote, the rest went to their work. So, now one of the
party wins and has the power to run the nation, but some of the other 22,332,548
people are sad because they were hoping someone else to be the leader without their
vote. My point is, simply thinking about something won’t make any difference,
therefore we have take action by engaging and participating in solving or addressing
issues, and actually going to vote for the party who we believe would best bring the
change.

Evaluation
Communication: / 10
Thinking & Inquiry: / 10

Teacher Comments
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