We're a democratic-republic.
"Don't forget that pure democracy is a form of collectivism -- it readily sacrifices individual rights to majority wishes. Since it involves no constitutional bill of rights, or at least, no working and effective one, the majority-of-the-moment can and does vote away the rights of the minority-of-the-moment, even of a single individual. This has been called 'mob rule,' the 'tyranny of the majority' and many other pejorative names. It is one of the greatest threats to liberty, the reason why America's founding fathers wrote so much so disparagingly of pure democracy." -- Bert Rand
"A pure democracy can admit no cure for the mischiefs of faction. A common passion or interest will be felt by a majority, and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party. Hence it is, that democracies have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in thier deaths." -- James Madison.
"Isn't it somewhat remarkable that we can go back a a few hundred years and find no shortage of quotations from our founding fathers warning us against the dangers of democracy, yet today teachers and politicians use the word as if it were an offering of gold." -- Neal Boortz
"'Democracy' does not mean freedom." -- Mark Da Cunha
"Democracy is four wolves and a sheep voting on dinner." -- Robert A. Heinlein
"Our founding fathers detested the idea of a democracy and labored long to prevent America becoming one. Once again -- the word 'democracy' does not appear in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, or the constitution of any of the fifty states. Not once. Furthermore, take a look at State of the Union speeches. You won’t find the 'D' word uttered once until the Wilson years." -- Neal Boortz, Nov. 7, 2002
"I can’t think of anything that would do more toward putting us back on the road to liberty and personal responsibility than for the average American, and for the news media, to come to the understanding that we are not a democracy, nor were we supposed to be." -- Neal Boortz
-- all from http://FreedomKeys.com/collectivism.htm
Check out how many "democracies" consider the accused guilty until proven innocent. Napoleonic Law?
Of course it's a republic...otherwise this forum would be called Free Democracy. :-D
I wonder when/who started the modern (mis-)usage of "democracy"?
BTTT
I think it's a good piece and should be re-posted now and then.
It shows how the history of our screwed up social evolution has twisted our country's direction. And wonders how we got to where we are today?
Walter Williams BUMPMARK
A Republic by design originally....sort of...although some leaned for a Confederation, the Republic leaning won out.
We have drifted towards a democracy and worse....the land of judicial fiat.
Neither were in the minds of the founders.
We are ultimately an oligarchy of multinational corporations and their attorneys if you must know the ugly truth. You must remain drunk each evening, watch sports, purchase lots of consumer goods and petroleum products, and don't rock the boat.
Civics btt
Democracy = Mob rule.
Republic = Representative form of government.
I noticed the other day when I did a self search to find a thread that I've made over 2000 posts to FR. I was surprised when I saw that, because I though it was a lot. My second thought was if I've done that many, I wonder how many Kattracks has made. I'll bet you have close to the record, whatever it is.
Armies of government parasites in government towns (even government states - like Maryland and Connecticut) wasn't exactly what the Founders envisioned.
You know, the push to violate this principle comes from both sides though. Some try to say that the constitution grants rights it does not grant (and they assume rights are from gov't, not God). Others try to say that a majority can do anything it wants. The Constitution was never meant to grant license to the individual. But there are rights granted to mankind from God that no government should ever take away. Majorities can make decisions that affect their lives and values, especially at the local level. They cannot take basic rights like speech, worship, voting, property, etc.
The joke is that most of the rights actually mentioned in the Bill of Rights have been violated. These days, the only Constitutional rights worth the paper they are written on are the ones not actually written on paper, but rather found in the shadows (judicial imaginations) of the Constitution.
If we can keep it.
/jasper
what kind of idiot would consier us a democracy?
Sure the founding fathers created a republic, but we now have, for the most part, a democracy. We might as well not even have a consititution, it is routinely ignored by Republicans and especially the Baathists, er Democrats.
FDR and the 17th Amendment really got us on the path to democracy. Because of FDR, people have figured out that they can vote themselves goodies from the public treasury. When the majority of the people start doing this, we are doomed.
We are in a precarious position when something like 40% of all Americans (and illegals) receive some kind of a check from the government.
Walter Williams hit it solid.
I wish civics wasn't an optional class and If only we could teach it.