Definig democracy

Democracy may be a word familiar to most. According to the dictionary definition, democracy “is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system” (Webster’s New World Dictionary. Warner Books Paperback Edition. 1990). In the phrase of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

Democracy falls into two basic categories: direct and representative. In a direct democracy all citizens can participate in making public decisions. Modern society, with its size and complexity, offers few opportunities for direct democracy. Today, the most common form of democracy is representative democracy, in which citizens elect officials to make political decisions, formulate laws and administers programs for the public good.

Freedom and democracy are often used interchangeably, but the two are not synonymous. Democracy is indeed the set of ideas and principles about freedom.

Most legal freedoms can be divided into three main groups:

Ø political freedom

Ø social freedom

Ø economic freedom

(What is Democracy? US Information agency, 1997; The individual in Society: Issues in English. I. Geniene, L. Miseviciene, etc. CfBT Educational Service, 1997)

Task 21. Analyze the following thematic scheme on the basic human rights and freedoms. Tell your group mates about people’s rights using the presented data. You can add any additional information.

Task 22. Here are some opinions of famous people about freedom. Read and translate them. Work in pairs, choose one of the quotations, discuss it and make your comments. Present the results of your discussion to the group mates.

Ø “Man is condemned to be free.” Jean-Paul Sartre

Ø “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” George Bernard Shaw

Ø “It is often safer to be in chains than to be free.” Franz Kafka

Ø “Do not believe in freedom in the philosophical sense. Everybody acts not only external compulsion but also in accordance with inner necessity.” Albert Einstein

Task 23. Get divided into groups of 3 or 4. Discuss how the main ideas and principles of democracy and freedom are observed in the Republic of Belarus. Use the above text “Defining Democracy” as the theoretical basis for your discussion.

FINALIZING 4.A

Task A. Organize a press conference “To the issues of observing human rights and freedoms in Belarus”.

You need:

• a member of the Committee on Human Rights of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus,
• a representative of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus,
• a representative of some non-governmental organization who should be ready to answer the questions of the journalist invited to the press conference.
• You also need to choose a spokesperson whose job is to give the floor to the participants and journalists and monitor the procedure and order.

Don’t forget that being a journalist you should first of all introduce yourself and name the media you represent.

Task B. Interview a foreign student of our university, ask about:

- impressions after a year or several years in our country,

- places they have visited in our country

- people they have met here

- experiences (of shopping, going to cafes, discos, libraries etc.)

- add any other issues in your interview and present it as a video/an article/a audio-record.

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