Final answer:
The United States is a representative democracy, or a republic, where citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf, diverging from the Athenian model of direct democracy where all eligible citizens voted directly on laws and policies. Therefore, the statement regarding the U.S. following Athenian democracy is false.
Step-by-step explanation:
The democracy practiced in the United States does not strictly follow the model of Athenian democracy, which is considered the first known democracy in the world. Athenian democracy was a direct democracy where all male citizens could directly vote on laws and governmental matters. In contrast, the United States is a republic or a representative democracy, where citizens elect representatives to make policy decisions on their behalf. Therefore, the statement that the United States still follows the model of Athenian democracy is false.
The best statement that expresses why the United States is not a true democracy, as practiced by the ancient Athenians, is option c: Citizens elect representatives who vote on their behalf to make policy. This is the cornerstone of a representative democracy or republic, as opposed to a direct democracy where citizens would vote on every issue themselves.