I think in today's America the question of wether we're a democracy or a republic is an important one. The term democracy is thrown around quite frequently by politicians, newscasters, and political activists on a daily basis. This question of what we are a a nation needs to start with the basics, the definition of the two terms.
Lets start with Democracy. On a very basic, and misunderstood level, the term democracy has come represent any government that listens to the voice of the people, via voting or elected representatives. In a general way this is correct, but let's look further and find out what the true definition of a democracy is in terms how the people in a democracy are represented by their government. The true meaning of a democracy is in fact a government that represents the majority of it's people usually through a form of representitive governing. The problem comes into play when looking at what is not a part of a democracy, and that is individual and minority rights. You see in a democracy the majority rules, or more precisely the representitives that were choosen are the majority, and they make the rules without regard to individual and minority consequences. The purpose of a democracy is to create a stable government by catering only to the majority, and disregarding the individual, and to do so through a proxy or representitive.
Now let's look at a republic. On a very basic level it seems almost identical to a democracy, and in fact there are some similarities, but let's look a little deeper. A republic uses some of the same processes as a democracy like electing representitives to the people, and allows those representitives to make decisions on behalf of those people, and this is where the similarities end. A Republic puts the rights of the people above the majority rules mentality, it protects minorities, and individuals. It takes care of this task usually by adhearing to a "constitution" this constitution is accepted by the people and only able to be adaptable by the people, this is done by amendments that are voted upon and divided up between three branches of the government. Those branches being a legislative, judicial, and executive branch. Essentially the purpose of a republic is to protect the "unalienable", "god given" rights of the individual, and thereby protecting the entirety of the people.
Now I certainly know which type of government I'd rather have, that being a Republic. I believe that most people would think the same thing, regardless of what their political leanings are, a republic offers maximum rights and freedoms to all people, making it easier for each individual to have the kind of life they want.
I realize that the term Democracy has been watered down to to refer to a government that allows it's people to vote for what they want, and for the most part I can look past the misuse of the word. What worries me is that with the way our government has acted in the past few years, it almost seems as though some in our government know the real meaning of democracy and actually want to turn our Republic into a democracy, and be assured our government was formed as a republic, and not a democracy.
If this is the case, and we are dealing with politicians, and activists in a position of power who are looking to turn us into a democracy, because they think that they know better than us, we are truely in trouble, and need to take care to actively investigate every person who runs for office. More importantly we need let our voices be heard, we need to use our supreme power to vote, to make sure we retain our Republic, and not let those that might seek to take away our power as individuals to be a part of decision making process.
Do your homework, make your own choices, don't listen to me, make up your own mind, but please let your voice be heard, and don't ever let anyone take away the most fundamental right you have as a U.S. citizen, your right to help govern yourself.
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