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DEMOCRACY VERSUS REPUBLIC
Our
founding fathers created our version of a
republic form of government America
and will always be better off as a result, if we
keep it. However, knowing the
difference is critical, as some un-American
(perhaps unintentionally) types are pushing for the U.S.A.
to
function like a democracy and pretend we are
not all equal or protected by our
Constitution.
Though a common misconception,
democracy and republic are unrelated to the Democrat and
Republican parties as "democracy" and
"republic" are systems of government,
not political parties.
The shortest possible definition of
a democracy (democratic) form of government is that
a majority votes rights
away from others. Potentially, a
democratic government
could (indeed, always does) negatively affect
its citizens according to their: socio-economic standing;
race; color; creed; opinions; etcetera~
for America, the results would be
devastating if we change to a democracy.
Preserving our republic is in our best
interest. Indeed, the survival of America,
as the founders intended, depends upon
knowing the difference between a
republic and a democracy and the insistence
of the people that we keep it. The
ignorance of our citizens has put America's
future in jeopardy as the false opinion that
we are a democratic (democracy) society is becoming
more and more common.
Further
explanation
A democracy form of government is very
different than a democratic election system,
of which a majority makes decisions
based upon the percentage of votes cast in
each election. The only place that the
word "democracy" relates
to America is with our elections, but fortunately,
the rights that are encompassed by our
republic cannot be affected by our
"democratic" election process. In other words, our superior
laws (The United States Constitution, along
with its amendments), cannot be voted on~
they are set in stone and protect all of our
citizens. This is perhaps the
most important distinction, as our republic
is unique and the greatest variation in the
world.
Although it has become commonplace for
people to thoughtlessly refer to our form of
government as a “democracy”, the word does
not appear in either the Declaration of
Independence or the Constitution of the
United States, our two fundamental
documents. The fact
that we are a republic is reiterated in:
Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution;
American’s ”Battle Hymn of the Republic”
and our pledge of allegiance to the United
States of America- “the Republic for which it stands”,
all reinforcing the fact that our form of
government is a republic, not a
democracy.
In actuality, as shown in many of their
writings, the founders saw great danger in a
democracy and went to great-lengths to
insure rights that are far superior to that
of a
democracy.
WHAT IS A REPUBLIC?
The Declaration of Independence contains the
principles of our [republic] government: that
all [citizens] are created with equal, unalienable
rights; that governments are formed by [our
citizens]
to secure these rights; and that governments
derive their just powers from the consent of
the governed. Upon these principles, our
forefathers established a body of law called
the Constitution of the United States to
which they added a Bill of Rights as the
first ten amendments to further guarantee
that America shall never allow any form of a
"majority rule" (democracy).
The essence of a republic is the rule of
law, commonly referred to as the common
or the scientific law, of which
is certain and unchangeable.
Under this form of government, individual
freedom and responsibility are maximized. The individual is sovereign and
their rights
are sacrosanct. Individuals are free to act
without permission, though must never impose
upon others
without consent.
Power is decentralized, divided, and
regulated by an elaborate system of checks
and balances while the law is neutral. No
one is exempt; everyone is equal before it.
All are held fully accountable to an injured
party. It is a fixed body of law.
WHAT IS A DEMOCRACY?
Within a democracy form of government, the
majority rules either directly or through
elected representatives or appointed
officials. The majority determines what
rights the minority shall have.
A democracy lacks the evenhanded boundaries
that exist in a fixed body of law, such as
what is present within a republic. The law
is whatever an official organ of government
determines it is. Individuals have no
inherent rights, but are considered the
products of history, culture, class, gender,
race, religion etcetera and are classified and
categorized accordingly.
It is government where members of
politically powerful constituencies receive
privileges because of their perceived
standing. Those standings being weighted in
their favor as a result of the majority
rule.
Restraint is upon the individual. The
will of one segment of society – the
majority – is imposed on everyone.
Government acts like a hammer punishing
violations of majority standards as enacted
by legislation. Such a government can
exercise their powers over anyone they
choose.
WHY DISFAVOR A DEMOCRACY?
A democracy opens the floodgates to greed
and inequality while a republic (our
republic) guarantees all citizens equality and
the right to take legal actions to end
dishonesty in OUR government without
having to wait for an election.
10 signatures in 5 days!
Hey, even just your own will have a
huge impact!
RECALL POWER IS OUR RIGHT.
As Governor Paterson reminded us
very recently, our politicians all
work for us.
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