Community in Democracy

When you look at ants coming at you one or two at a time, it is relatively easy to dismiss them as relatively powerless and inconsequential.  It is easy to discard them or even ignore them.  If you see an entire ant colony coming at you, you need to be concerned about what they want.  Or if you know what they want, to make sure it is done.  The same thing occurs in a democracy when individuals or some uncoordinated communications are sent to a representative.  They might be recorded on a list of some kind, but the representative doesn’t get all that concerned or involved; there are lots of other things to think about.  However, if an entire community is concerned about an issue or demanding a particular solution, a representative is more likely to make sure the solution is accomplished.  This gets even more compelling the more communities coalesce to form a larger and even more formidable body.   This power through community is active democracy which means power to people when they act in communities and not as separate individuals.  The power people get in a democracy is from working together with others.  In another example, a thousand people can march on a representative’s office and make demands, but if they disband after the march and just become a thousand different individuals, the pressure on the representative disappears.  If on the other hand, the thousands stay together in some form of an interactive, concerted community, the pressure continues and representative continue to feel the pressure to accomplish the demands of the community.