Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Republic or Democracy?

My purpose in writing this is not to give a great in-depth dissertation on the workings of our Government, but rather to spark a little ‘thought’ in folks to think about where we are and where we are going as a Country and what it might mean to us. So without further ado, on to the question:

The question is: Are we, that is The United States of America, a Republic or a Democracy? If you ask the average person, they will probably say a Democracy and they would be right, its sad to say. But we didn’t start out that way. This country started out as a Republic. Actually to be more accurate, a Democratic Republic. Now, lets see what the Dictionary has to say:

de·moc·ra·cy (dĭ-mŏk'rə-sē)
n. pl. de·moc·ra·cies

1. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through
elected representatives.

2. A political or social unit that has such a government.

  1. 5.The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within
    a community.


(I took the liberty to underline certain words in the definition.)

re·pub·lic (rĭ-pŭb'lĭk)

n.

1. a. A political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in
modern times is usually a president.

b. A nation that has such a political order.

c. A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of
citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives
responsible to them.

d. A nation that has such a political order.

2. a. A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of
citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives
responsible to them.

b. A nation that has such a political order.

3. often Republic A specific republican government of a nation: the
Fourth Republic of France.

4. An autonomous or partially autonomous political and territorial
unit belonging to a sovereign federation.

5. A group of people working as equals in the same sphere or field:
the republic of letters.

Which one would you want to belong to?

Now if you look at the two definitions that I have put up, they came from the American Heritage Dictionary, you will find a couple of interesting points. I have underlined them to make them stand out.

The first thing that one notices is that in a Democracy, the people are ruled by the elected representatives. Once they have cast their vote, they don’t have anymore rights! Only privileges given them by the majority and that by the elected representatives.

Now in the Republic, the people never lose their rights. The government is responsible to them. The people are supreme, NOT the government!

So, we come back to the question: Are we in todays world a Republic or a Democracy?

The answer is simple, but not obvious. The Government today operates as a Republic within itself and its members. We the People have been relegated to a Democracy. It hasn’t always been that way.

Our Founding Fathers saw a need for a government that would be subject to the People and not the other way around. By setting up a Democratic Republic and giving the right to bear arms to the people they established a form of government Of, For and By the People. This all came to an end in 1886.

More at a later date...