Most English-speaking countries, and dozens of other countries around the world, are run under democratic systems of government, in which the people as a whole vote to elect representatives to make the laws, and often have opportunities to vote on those proposed laws directly. The word democracy comes from the Greek roots demos (“people”) and kratos (“power”). The Ancient Greeks were the first to codify the structure of a democratic society, and their model formed the basis for change during later times of political upheaval, from the French and American revolutions of several hundred years ago to the Ukranian “Orange Revolution” that occured within the last decade. The struggle for political power is an ongoing one, and there is a constant battle between those who have power and those who want it.

In a democracy, it’s important to have an informed group of citizens casting their votes. People might say “Oh, it’s all so complicated – I don’t really understand the details of the laws, so I’ll just let other people make the decisions.” Part of the reason the laws are hard to understand is that they’re often long, detailed, technically-written blocks of text, and most people don’t have the time or energy to read through them word-for-word and try to puzzle out all of the meanings. However, short explanations of the laws are usually available on local or national government websites, or in publications by the government or by voter’s rights organizations. Even with this help, though, it might be hard to understand what a specific law is designed to accomplish. That’s where a good vocabulary will help.

The more words you know, the easier it will be to read through dense technical texts. The more you know about the issues, the better able you’ll be to make informed decisions on how you’re going to vote on them, or who you’ll vote for to represent your interests at the local or national level. In many cases, politicians count on the fact that people will be too busy or too tired to check the details of a proposed law, or to research the statements that the politicians make about themselves or each other during political election season. If you’re well-educated in the vocabulary of politics, you’ll be able to see through any attempt to manipulate you into casting your vote the way the politician wants you to, and will then be able to vote for what’s in your best interest.

Work on improving your vocabulary, and help to keep the power with the people!