Drivel and ignorance
The world history always teaches that there is no freedom absent a government created by the people. Absent democracy, there is no freedom.
Yes, I know America is a Republic. The Republic is governed by elected leaders
No. In a Republic the people are governed by laws. When we are led by votes or leaders we’ve voted for we are in a Democracy. When we are in a Republic with elected officials who are acting outside of or superior to the law we are in neither.
The difference between a democracy and a republic is not just semantic. Democracy is just majoritarian rule. It is the rule of what three wolves and a lamb decide to have for dinner. Aristotle divided governments into three categories, those ruled by a single person, those ruled by an elite, and those ruled by the general population. For the first two he divided them into pure forms and debased form: monarchy vs despotism; aristocracy vs oligarchy. But he saw no pure form of democracy, it was always a debased form that led to tyranny. Rather, what he advocated was polity or a republic where the three sources of power—monarchy, aristocracy, and popular—would be balanced against each other. This was what our founding fathers were trying to establish. Pure democracy frightened them.
I couldn’t agree more.
The essay is nonsense.
Absent democracy, there is no freedom
——
That sounds like one of those 1950s overseas AFRS public service commercials. They have some real howlers, I listen to old time radio programs where these are played along with Gunsmoke or Paladin. Another one is “In a democracy, a dictator can’t take over, the people won’t allow it”.
The ancient Greeks had democracy and slavery. Right? In fact slavery is sort of the default human condition, not the exception.
You consider this drivel? This is fundamental to the underpinnings of our Republic. I am guessing that in good FR tradition you did not read the piece.
“Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, the right to self-defense — these rights and other natural liberties do not come into existence because of majority rule. Our natural rights exist despite majority rule. As the Founding Fathers articulated in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” We aren’t equal because of democracy; we are equal despite any democratic vote that might claim otherwise. Our lives, personal liberties, and connections to God exist because of His will, not the government’s.”
No. We have a Constitution. There are so many things in it, especially the Bill of Rights, which are outside of "democracy." The government may not pass laws limiting our access to guns, it may not limit our speech, it may not illegally search our homes and persons without strong evidence.
Yet the mob has voted "democratically" for many limitations on exactly those rights.
I'll throw out the old cliche - Hitler's first act a Chancellor (appointed in a democratic system) was to have the Reichtag (Parliament) vote to cede himself and his cabinet far greater power and to eliminate most of the checks and balances in the Weimar Constitution
Democracy in action!