In US civil society, there are many freedoms, not to be cliché, it's government by the people and for the people. In the spirit of democracy, the people have a voice, our government has helped us by dividing these freedoms into our civil rights and civil liberties.

Political discourse is our chance for policy but most importantly is citizen's free exercise of their constitutional rights. So what makes a democracy inferior to other forms of government.

I spent my last night (my sixth week of study in China) in Guangzhou province in Guangdong city as an international student at Baiyun University. Earlier this evening I reflected on a simple difference which I have encountered the entire trip. There are renovation and construction taking place on campus yet each worksite was not closed off. It took a while to sink in that I was no longer in America because of the confusion of not seeing nets secured by beams enclosing each work area. Every morning as I left my dorm, especially this morning, I saw mettle being welding and sparks flying into the air around me. There was no barrier.

That made me think of how these protections came about for American citizens in the United States. Policies that protect the rights to personal security, especially from unsafe conditions and the hands of other civilians. Keep in mind that civil rights are government policies to protect civilians and our liberties are restraints on government actions or abuses. So, the fourteenth Amendment safeguards citizens from government's abuses.

Likewise, the US Supreme courts have established precedent cases which rule against "state" obligation to protect citizens mainly in regard to domestic disputes. Then in 1982 the US Supreme courts ruled that the liberty to personal protections for citizens was safeguarded by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. It is hard to say the same for Communist societies, especially when absent from the Chinese Constitution. Even in Chapter 2, the fundamental rights and duties of citizens do not grant civil and political discourse. So citizens right and duty to challenge their government is perhaps one of the greats perks of a democracy

What are your perks of a democracy? Why is that essential for civil society?