Do you feel that our elected government really represents our opinion or the opinion of the majority?
553988
Face it, we have the best bunch of politicians money can buy!
90551
A government of the people, by the people, for the people.
102146
Representational democracy.  More or less -- they're actually quite socialist, much like Britain.
508810
It's democratic inasmuch as we vote for stuff.  Anything short of amending the Constitution is subject, directly or indirectly, to a majority vote of the people.
620035
do the representatives of any state represent the general population of their state?\n\nregarding voting, your rep., rep's the majority that voted.
1051273
It should not be. Nor do I think voting should be a requirement to voice your opinion.\n\nA vote is saying that you affirmatively approve one candidate over another. If none of the people on the ballot are ones that I actually support, I wouldn't vote for them.\n\nHowever, because I am still stuck with whatever laws the majority-elected government chooses to enact,  I absolutely have the right to voice my opinion about those. Especially since I don't actually have the opportunity to vote for most of those laws directly.
333142
Not even close - for a start, how can 2 parties represent the views of all the people in one of the largest countries in the world?  Especially when the head of state is not elected directly by the people, but by an Electoral College.  It seems absurd that a President can come to power who, when the actual votes of the people are counted, didn't win?  Surely those are the votes that count?  You have one of the most culturally diverse populations on the planet, and yet your Parliament, Government and Judiciary are predominantly white, middle class, wealthy and male.  That doesn't sound very democratic to me.
751959
Just like in any election, most registered voters don't show up and a minority determines the outcome.  On the other hand, askers will often select an answer that best suits their ideology or feelings on an issue, rather than actually choosing the best answer. So I suppose you need to take it case by case.  I prefer when the asker chooses the best answer, because at least then I know they are actually reading the answers. But that's nothing to do with democracy.
113329
The questioning of a government should never be considered disloyal and I feel sorry for the majority of the people in this world who currently are or have in the past had to live in those kind of governments.  To question things is one of the most basic human insticts and should not be feared.
215821
No, I think that the majority of the population is good and obeys the law.  The minority needs to be punished.  If prosecution didn't exist, it would be the majority that the country would be alienating.
1184473
It depends on the type of democracy. It appears that we are under a representative democracy. This means that we elect representatives based on their credentials to make decisions for us. If we want those elected to listen to us we need to shift towards direct or deliberative democracy in which the elected official is accountable to those who elected them.
834322
You can't tell that just from these elections.  It depends on who is running and what their policies are.  I personally, don't care what someone is, democrat, or republic....I vote for who I agree with the most.  If that happens to be a democrat, then I vote democrat....if it happens to be a republican, then I vote republican....
169772
I think the government and the media influence the public opinion.
354920
democracy. we control who we vote for and we speak through that person though it dosen seem like it sometimes
208143
Putting this question in the Sports category is a bit peculiar, don't you think?\n\nIt's a lot like the question itself.  Elected leaders of any country represent at best the wishes of the majority.  I don't know how things work in your country, but in America, we don't all just fall into lock-step with out leaders.  I think most of us want to believe our president will wisely lead us, but we are certainly not blind to reality.  And in light of recent events and Bush's crumbling approval rate, it appears most Americans have lost confidence in him.\n\nIf you really think all citizens of this or any nation are no more than carbon copies of their leaders, you have a lot to learn about people.
993116
In theory it is, but in practice, it doesn't work that way. The government has become self-serving. One might argue that the government looks at the bigger picture and therefore can not make decisions based on what the people want. Also, at times, the government only knows what the people with the largest influence and the biggest wallets wants.
270579
Not necessarily!  Our form of government, although our reps are democratically elected, except for the President, is actually a republic.  We elect our representatives to vote for, what we hope is in our interests, but that doesn't always happen.  Our alternative is to vote them out at the next election, have a recall, or impeach.  An example of true democracy is the town meeting form of government.  What the people decide becomes the law.  As for the President, we don't elect him/her.  We elect what is called the electoral college.  They in turn meet collectively and actually vote for the president; again, a republic form of government.  We elect them to vote for us.  There's a lot more to it than this brief explanation, but I think it will give you an idea.  However, we, unlike any other nation on the planet, have the closest thing to a democracy that there is.