Democracy, or Republic
This is Steven Petrick Posting.
One of the failures of our education system is increasingly the fact that students in Public Education do not understand what form of government our founding fathers bequeathed to us. They believe that it was "democracy", and our school system helps foster that belief by either excluding outright, or mangling the words of the founding fathers. I have met many a student who barely knows who Benjamin Franklin was, and of that number, most believe that Franklin, when asked what form of government he and the Continental Congress had created, replied "A democracy, if you can keep it." Sad to say, that is not what Franklin said. He said "A republic, if you can keep it." A lot of teachers would shrug and say that there is no difference, that a Republic is a democracy. Such statements probably have all the founding fathers rolling in their graves.
The Founding fathers did not believe in Democracy. They were men who knew history, and knew that every state that tried to operate as a democracy had failed. Democracy was anathema to them as it was "rule of the mob". It was for that reason they build our system of government as a series of checks and balances, so that the (to coin my own phrase) "Might of the Majority would not trample the rights of the minority".
For that reason they had two bodies in the Legislature, one representing "the People", i.e, the House of Representatives, and one representing "the States", i.e., the Senate. And either could block the desires of the other.
For that reason they gave the President, one man, the power to attempt to block whatever the Legislature wanted to do, and allowed the legislature to overrule him not on simple majority, but on a two thirds affirmative vote of both houses.
For that reason they originally restricted the vote to those who "owned property" on the theory that they would have an interest in how the government operated. It seems the majority of people no longer have any idea what their elected leaders are doing, and do not care as long as "their guy" won, no matter how corrupt and otherwise incapable of actually guiding the country (consider that massive economic stimulus bill that Congress passed, and all of them admit that they did not read it, but Pelosi and Reid brought it to a vote and refused to allow anyone time to read it, that is rule by the elite, neither Republican or Democratic except that the bill provided plenty of funds to buy votes).
Senators did not used to be elected by the people, but the Constitution was amended in 1912 to take the power of senators away from the states, and give them to the people, i.e., it provided for direct election by the people. From that point we can being to trace the fall of the Republic. Senators, who were a key break on the "enthusiasms of the masses" became beholden to the masses for their seats. Suddenly they had to bring home the pork not just for their state legislatures, but for the electorate as a whole of their state.
The result is that, as others have noted, we have the best political leadership that money can buy, and most of them stay bought by the special interests that provide the funds they need to get elected.
And so, almost a 100 years after it was enacted, we see the results.
The Republic is doomed, and Democracy will destroy what is left.
One of the failures of our education system is increasingly the fact that students in Public Education do not understand what form of government our founding fathers bequeathed to us. They believe that it was "democracy", and our school system helps foster that belief by either excluding outright, or mangling the words of the founding fathers. I have met many a student who barely knows who Benjamin Franklin was, and of that number, most believe that Franklin, when asked what form of government he and the Continental Congress had created, replied "A democracy, if you can keep it." Sad to say, that is not what Franklin said. He said "A republic, if you can keep it." A lot of teachers would shrug and say that there is no difference, that a Republic is a democracy. Such statements probably have all the founding fathers rolling in their graves.
The Founding fathers did not believe in Democracy. They were men who knew history, and knew that every state that tried to operate as a democracy had failed. Democracy was anathema to them as it was "rule of the mob". It was for that reason they build our system of government as a series of checks and balances, so that the (to coin my own phrase) "Might of the Majority would not trample the rights of the minority".
For that reason they had two bodies in the Legislature, one representing "the People", i.e, the House of Representatives, and one representing "the States", i.e., the Senate. And either could block the desires of the other.
For that reason they gave the President, one man, the power to attempt to block whatever the Legislature wanted to do, and allowed the legislature to overrule him not on simple majority, but on a two thirds affirmative vote of both houses.
For that reason they originally restricted the vote to those who "owned property" on the theory that they would have an interest in how the government operated. It seems the majority of people no longer have any idea what their elected leaders are doing, and do not care as long as "their guy" won, no matter how corrupt and otherwise incapable of actually guiding the country (consider that massive economic stimulus bill that Congress passed, and all of them admit that they did not read it, but Pelosi and Reid brought it to a vote and refused to allow anyone time to read it, that is rule by the elite, neither Republican or Democratic except that the bill provided plenty of funds to buy votes).
Senators did not used to be elected by the people, but the Constitution was amended in 1912 to take the power of senators away from the states, and give them to the people, i.e., it provided for direct election by the people. From that point we can being to trace the fall of the Republic. Senators, who were a key break on the "enthusiasms of the masses" became beholden to the masses for their seats. Suddenly they had to bring home the pork not just for their state legislatures, but for the electorate as a whole of their state.
The result is that, as others have noted, we have the best political leadership that money can buy, and most of them stay bought by the special interests that provide the funds they need to get elected.
And so, almost a 100 years after it was enacted, we see the results.
The Republic is doomed, and Democracy will destroy what is left.
posted by Federation Commander at 4:17 PM
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