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Genise Martin And to the republic for which is stands
Constitutional republic, not a democracy
By Genise Martin
Guest commentary
Our Founding Fathers warned us emphatically of the danger of losing our constitutional republic, and as Fisher Ames stated, “sliding down into the mire of democracy, which pollutes the morals of citizens before it swallows us their liberties.”
Increasingly, it is evident that there is an attempt being made by some—which began decades ago—to confuse the vocabulary of the citizenry and establish the notion that our nation was founded as a “democracy.” This confusion and substitution cannot be attained with a review of well-documented historical facts or correct principles taught in the traditions of our Founding Fathers, but can only be achieved by perpetual repetition of an inaccuracy. We are repeatedly, subliminally being sent the false message that our nation is meant to be a “democracy” instead of the constitutionally limited republic that our Founding Father helped to establish to protect our God-giving unalienable rights.
A democracy is the rule of an unrestrained majority. What if that majority decides to take away your property, business, home or children? In a direct democracy the people can vote away your rights. As others have explained, a simple way to think of it would be if “two wolves and a sheep were voting on what’s for dinner!”
A republic is the rule of law. The Constitution (from which both major political parties have strayed) is the “supreme Law of the Land,” as declared in Section VI thereof. In a republic the unalienable rights of the individual are protected from the whims and desires of the majority, and the power of government is limited by law.
John F. McManus in Overview of America stated, “Many Americans would be surprised to learn that the word democracy does not appear in the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution, nor does it appear in any of the constitutions of the 50 states. The Founders did everything they could to keep us from having a democracy.
Editors Note: This article originally appeared in the Sentinel News in 2007, but still is timely in our Society |