Weekly Reflection, Week of 11/1

The first part of this week's question really threw me through a loop, what makes American democracy unique and relatable to the MENA region's democratic structures. More specifically is what makes American democracy relatable. At the superficial level, I really can't see anything relatable. Our current structure is a reflection of our history, and particularly many of the modern features of our present political state can be related to our recent excess consumer culture. American democracy today is a reflection of excess greed, excess spending, and an incredible concentration of power. Maybe at this point the American political structure can sound like other regimes around the world, particularly in developing democracies. The only difference I see in American politics is that America had the power of democracy, we had the power to shift our future, but the passive American consumer traded that power away for a more sedentary life style. In a time when people in the MENA region are fighting to gain these precious rights, it can be very harshly juxtaposed by the average American voter who on election day can be found....at home, watching TV.