Need some advice on what to include in answering this question about democracy and being a citizen?

My questions are:





Why and how does constitutional democracy in the United States depend on the active participation of its citizens?





and also,





What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a citizen of botht he United States and the state you reside in?





I already have an idea of how to answer these questions because my instructor gave me some tips, but they are vague and I want some specific examples I can pick out of (like court cases or maybe current events) that can help me answer this.








Any help would be greatly appreciated!Need some advice on what to include in answering this question about democracy and being a citizen?
';Why and how does constitutional democracy in the United States depend on the active participation of its citizens?';





Look up the etymology of the word ';democracy.'; That'll shed light on that one.





';What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a citizen of botht he United States and the state you reside in?';





A disadvantage is double taxation. You pay federal income taxes as well as state ones. Or if your state doesn't have an income tax, it probably has some other type of tax. Advantages could include anything. We're free to go into other states, allowed to hunt, fish, garden and utilize other natural resources in most cases, etc.