Democracy in the United States is definitely not a direct democracy. As a liberal democracy, it is less of a government run by the people but more of a government run by the officials that the people elect. I agree with Weber's theory of democractic elitism. It is impossible for the voice of every citizen of the United States to be heard. This theory makes the government the most effective at getting services out to the general population. Schumpeter's statement that "democracy is the rule of the politician, not the people" is something I agree with.
Another theory that I agree with is the pluralist theory. This theory says that individual citizens can have little or no direct influence on political decision making but that the presence of an interest group can limit the centralization of power. One person can't change the world but if they band enough people together, then they can make the world a different place.
One aspect of the United States democracy that I do not agree with is the use of the electoral college to elect the president. I know that this policy was enacted by the founding fathers because they didn't trust the average man to make such an important decision as electing the leader of the free world. But I think that using the electoral college doesn't give each person who is eligible to vote, a voice. It clumps them by the political make-up of their state and sometimes makes people not vote because they feel as if their vote won't matter. Because of the use of the electoral college in the United States, it leaves the most important decision in this democracy up to electors and makes it an indirect election. If the US decided to forgo the electorial college in the future, it would be one step closer to being a true democracy run by the people.
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