Added: Dec 3, 2008
From: cadborasaurus
Duration: 4:56
Many people are under the false impression that our form of government is a democracy. Even a lot of politicians call us a democracy. We are most certainly NOT a democracy! The United States of America is a REPUBLIC. Accurately defined, a democracy is a form of government in which the people decide policy matters directly--through town hall meetings or by voting on ballot initiatives and referendums. A republic, on the other hand, is a system in which the people choose representatives who, in turn, make policy decisions on their behalf. The Framers of the Constitution were altogether fearful of pure democracy. Everything they read and studied taught them that pure democracies "have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; 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 their deaths."How often have you heard people refer to America as a Democracy? When was the last time that you heard America referred to as a Republic? There is a very good reason that our Pledge of Allegiance refers to our country as a Republic and there is a very good reason that our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution do not even mentioned the word "democracy". The Founders were extremely knowledgeable about the issue of democracy and feared a democracy as much as a monarchy. They understood that the only entity that can take away the people's freedom is their own government, either by being too weak to protect them from external threats or by becoming too powerful and taking over every aspect of life.They knew very well the meaning of the word "democracy", and the history of democracies; and they were deliberately doing everything in their power to prevent having a democracy.In a Republic, the sovereignty resides with the people themselves. In a Republic, one may act on his own or through his representatives when he chooses to solve a problem. The people have no obligation to the government; instead, the government is a servant of the people, and obliged to its owner, We the People.A Constitutional Republic has some similarities to democracy in that it uses democratic processes to elect representatives and pass new laws, etc. The critical difference lies in the fact that a Constitutional Republic has a Constitution that limits the powers of the government. It also spells out how the government is structured, creating checks on its power and balancing power between the different branches, and the people in a Republic do not vote to pass laws like people in a democracy. Instead, the people elect representatives to vote on laws. Hmm, now what Superpower does that?Also, the truth can even be found in the the Pledge of Allegiance which states: "and to the republic for which it stands." So is the United States of America democracy? Absolutely Not!So, let's quit calling ourselves a democracy! We are a Republic, and instead of trying to spread democracy across the world, let's give a Constitutional Republic to countries across the world and in the Middle East.Now, I challenge you to start saying that the United States is a Constitutional Republic. Let's all band together to end this false impression.
Channel: News
Tags: abc analysis cnn commentary commercial constitution constitutional democracy documentary fox gotcha! grassroots msnbc nbc news not outreach political republic states u.s.a. united usa
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