I suspect you have an answer to this question- "Is America a Democracy?" I further suspect that you have answered in the affirmative.
Well you are, unfortunately, WRONG.
The United States of America is a Republic.
That is right.
I said a republic, not a democracy.
The media, politicians, bureaucrats, and all of us have mistakenly labeled our country a democracy.
A democracy is not synonymous with a republic.
Let me repeat, we are a republic, not a democracy.
There is big difference.
A democracy is a nation ruled by majority.
A republic is a nation ruled by law.
You may ask.
What is wrong with being a democracy? Allow me to explain with an example.
Let us assume a community of people.
We will also assume that there is a rapist or murderer among them.
Someone of the community names and identifies a suspect.
Fearing for his well-being, the suspect runs away.
A group of people set out to find him and they capture him.
In the heat of emotion and because the crime was so horrendous, the group decides that justice must be served there and then.
They take a show of hands.
Most agree that he deserves swift and just punishment.
The majority decides to punish the suspect.
I hesitate to call this group a mob.
They are God-fearing, rational people.
They are convinced of the suspect's guilt.
The majority believe in his guilt.
So, majority rules.
That is a democracy.
Luckily, for the suspect the police chief arrives and says, "Stop! You cannot take the law into your own hands.
This man must be judged by the rule of law.
He must be tried before a jury of his peers.
" Not only must the suspect be tried before a jury of his peers, but also the jury's verdict must be unanimous.
In a republic, the rule is by law not by a majority's consensus.
Are you living in a democracy or a republic? You get to choose.
There are those that will argue that a movement like Civil Rights is proof of democracy in action.
Wrong, again.
The Civil Rights movement and subsequent enacted laws did nothing but follow the rule of law, our Constitution, the law of the land.
It guarantees equal rights before the law.
At the time, that was something that was not recognized.
You and I know that some of the signers of the Constitution were slave owners.
But, by design or by forgetfulness the Constitution harbors no allusion to the superiority of one individual over another.
If such language did exist, it was wisely omitted or discarded.
Politicians love democracies because they need only appease the majority.
If politicians governed by the rule of law, some would agree and some would disagree, but all would know that the rule of law protects their rights.
Are your rights protected? The Constitution is no more than an expansion of the Golden Rule.
Are you following the Golden Rule?
Well you are, unfortunately, WRONG.
The United States of America is a Republic.
That is right.
I said a republic, not a democracy.
The media, politicians, bureaucrats, and all of us have mistakenly labeled our country a democracy.
A democracy is not synonymous with a republic.
Let me repeat, we are a republic, not a democracy.
There is big difference.
A democracy is a nation ruled by majority.
A republic is a nation ruled by law.
You may ask.
What is wrong with being a democracy? Allow me to explain with an example.
Let us assume a community of people.
We will also assume that there is a rapist or murderer among them.
Someone of the community names and identifies a suspect.
Fearing for his well-being, the suspect runs away.
A group of people set out to find him and they capture him.
In the heat of emotion and because the crime was so horrendous, the group decides that justice must be served there and then.
They take a show of hands.
Most agree that he deserves swift and just punishment.
The majority decides to punish the suspect.
I hesitate to call this group a mob.
They are God-fearing, rational people.
They are convinced of the suspect's guilt.
The majority believe in his guilt.
So, majority rules.
That is a democracy.
Luckily, for the suspect the police chief arrives and says, "Stop! You cannot take the law into your own hands.
This man must be judged by the rule of law.
He must be tried before a jury of his peers.
" Not only must the suspect be tried before a jury of his peers, but also the jury's verdict must be unanimous.
In a republic, the rule is by law not by a majority's consensus.
Are you living in a democracy or a republic? You get to choose.
There are those that will argue that a movement like Civil Rights is proof of democracy in action.
Wrong, again.
The Civil Rights movement and subsequent enacted laws did nothing but follow the rule of law, our Constitution, the law of the land.
It guarantees equal rights before the law.
At the time, that was something that was not recognized.
You and I know that some of the signers of the Constitution were slave owners.
But, by design or by forgetfulness the Constitution harbors no allusion to the superiority of one individual over another.
If such language did exist, it was wisely omitted or discarded.
Politicians love democracies because they need only appease the majority.
If politicians governed by the rule of law, some would agree and some would disagree, but all would know that the rule of law protects their rights.
Are your rights protected? The Constitution is no more than an expansion of the Golden Rule.
Are you following the Golden Rule?
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