As much as we want to believe that the government that governs us is a representative government, it has to be admitted that in many cases, those who are our representatives don’t seem to be beholden to the people at all. That is to say, those that are our legislative representatives seem to be on a level that the people are not on and therefore it seems that our voice doesn’t really matter to them, and that in short, we find that politicians and our representatives are very good at saying and promising certain things that would be beneficial for the people, but somehow never get around to actually accomplishing those things, instead they appear to be deceptive and unforthcoming to what the people actually need and want.
The one thing though that is in the people’s control, is our jury system which is effected for trials of all sorts, and is not only enshrined in our constitution but is also effectively part and parcel of the way that those that have been charged with a crime or offense, are fairly judged, because those that make up the juries, are truly the people, and therefore should be able to better relate to the circumstances of what is being judged, which makes for the opportunity to weigh in on those matters that matter to the community and therefore to have the opportunity to have their fair say.
Indeed, as much as this government might want to divert from the jury system, which it actually does through the incredible amount of plea bargaining so processed, at the end of the day, jury trials are the right of the accused, and those so accused have got to feel that win, lose, or draw, that a jury decision in the present day, in which juries are not supposed to be all one color, or all one particular segment of the community, but rather to be a fair representation of those that make up that community, would seem to be about as fair as one could expect to find, when hoping that one’s peers would determine guilt or innocence.
The bottom line is that for most Americans, just having one vote, doesn’t really amount to much, and except for community hearings in which the public is permitted to have a voice, but limited to just a few minutes, represents about the only time when they would feel that their voice actually matters, except for their participation as a member of the jury, which is why those that are called to jury duty ought to really want to participate in a trial, for not only because this will give them real knowledge of how trials are conducted, but also it will for a certainty, provide them with the opportunity to make a judgment in which that judgment makes a material difference to the trial at hand, and ought therefore to be seen as a very strong representation of the people having agency and power, which is demonstrated by the jury decision collectively so rendered.