Democracy is Threatened
I’m going on memory hear on this part, but for what seems like 8 years now I have heard a phrase that goes something like, it will destroy our democracy. Now look, that is a scary sounding thing, I mean I have a boat and don’t want it destroyed, however, I have some debt that I would like to see demolished. So as scary as it sounds, I reckon we ought (I pronounce it as ort) to take a gander at this democracy and see if it’s bad to destroy, like my boat, or would it be awesome to destroy, like my debt.
I’m figuring, the first thing to do is define democracy, well, we will let Merriam and Webster do that: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy
1
a
:government by the people
especially: rule of the majority
b
:a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
I did not copy all 5 definitions, but this one seems to explain it pretty well. Democracy is a form of government that is ruled by the majority. This would indicate that the majority of the people in a democracy will set the laws and standards for that country. I know I am simplifying things, but I do like to keep the cookies on the bottom shelf. This sounds a lot like what we have, but if you think for a minute, is majority rule what we really have or for that matter, even want.
As for a Republic defined, according to dictionary.com it says:
a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.
Now that definition as simple as it is, sounds just a little more like us, just a little, but closer. We elect our officials and they have the power to create laws and things like this. However, the word supreme in this doesn’t really sit well with what we have. Supreme power held by the people and their elected officials. I mean it sounds good, but it just doesn’t fit exactly the way America was established.
So what are we, some folks call us a democracy, and I guess if you are in a position of power like a senator and have a majority, you may be able to do what you want. And no I am not going to go on a rant about how the dems and reps say one thing, then vote another way. I’m not even gonna mention how bad laws and policies have been installed no matter which bunch is the majority. They appear to be little difference in either side to me, but I am not going to chase rabbits.
I did a bit of searching and look, you have to look at multiple things, but this seemed to be the best fit. I got this definition from The US Embassy in Argentina:
https://ar.usembassy.gov/u-s-government/
While often categorized as a democracy, the United States is more accurately defined as a constitutional federal republic. What does this mean? “Constitutional” refers to the fact that government in the United States is based on a Constitution which is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution not only provides the framework for how the federal and state governments are structured, but also places significant limits on their powers. “Federal” means that there is both a national government and governments of the 50 states. A “republic” is a form of government in which the people hold power, but elect representatives to exercise that power.
We find this word Supreme again, but here it is referring to the Constitution, the countries framework. As stated above, it also limits the powers of the government. We have three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. This should limit the power of any branch.
So in closing, when you hear it will destroy our democracy, in my mind I think it is like a debt, destroy that sucker. We are a Constitutional Federal Republic and should stick with this. We are supposed to have freedom of speech, it is ours in the Constitution and no one can take this from us. Same with our gun rights, and we don’t need to candy coat this stuff with; it’s for hunting, it’s for self defense. Why do we not need to do this, because the Constitution states: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Our right to keep and bear arms, shall not be Infringed.
