How civil society, along with free press, strengthens democracy.
Civil society is simply a collective group of people with common interests under no governmental influence. These societies of people would be considered part of non-governmental organizations. But how do these groups strengthen a democracy?
In a way, civil society and democracy are very similar. Democracy is meant to be a government ruled by the people and for the people. Even though it is still a government, it is the people that are the priority. Civil societies strive to influence the government based on the people’s opinions, and they don’t let the government interfere. This is why in order for civil societies to achieve their goal, they need their voices to be heard.
Civil societies depend on, not completely but mainly, our 1st amendment rights to speak their opinions; more specifically, freedom of speech and press. The press is a big factor because it allows civil societies to not only speak their minds at the government itself, but also to the rest of the population of people in the democracy. That way, if some people have a different opinion or no opinion at all, they might get their minds changed if influenced by a reliable media source. This, in turn, builds the civil societies’ members, and at the same time, allowing the government to take their opinion into consideration.
Since democracy’s purpose is to keep the people’s opinions and interests as a first priority, then civil societies are meant to be the building block for people with common interests to have their voices heard. This, along with a free press, ensures a democracy is well managed and strengthened.