2 of 73

Write now Article Tools

If the goal is to understand democracy in America, you'd have a better chance of figuring out how the rotation of the earth effects the finish on your bathroom faucet.
America should not be, nor was it intended to be a democracy. America was created by our founding fathers to be a "representative republic." Lets consider some definitions for clarity sake. The Oxford defines representative as: "(of a law making body) consisting of people chosen to act and speak on behalf of a wider group." The Oxford defines Republic as: "a state in which power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has a president rather than a monarch."

Oxford defines democracy as;"a form of government in which the people can vote for representatives to govern the state on their behalf."

The difference between these two definitions is minute, but those differences are night and day apart from one another. In a democracy, the people cede all power to the elected officials to make decisions on their behalf. In a Representative Republic all the power of decisions centralizes around the will of the people who choose representatives to speak on their behalf.
Madison, Jay and Hamilton spent a great many years of their collective lives trying to convince New York, (through the writing and printing of the Federalist Papers,) that New York should join the new Federal union. In doing so; convincing the state to cede power to a centralized federal monster was unthinkable; Hence, the Representative Republic system was born and sold to the people of New York and adopted as the "official" form or government that would forever serve these great United States.
Soon after ratification, the second hand on the clock moved and the greed mongers moved in. Slowly; ever so slowly through the years, self serving politicians have exploited the people they were elected to speak for and covertly gained a secession of the people's power to be quietly handed over to the very politicians elected to ensure that endowed right was never lost. Over the millenia we have morphed from a nation governed by the Representative Republic model to that of the Democracy model.
Now we do live in a Democracy and there we find the root of all our problems; for we have willingly ceded OUR power to the officials we elect, to do with our power what they wish, when they wish and how they wish. NO longer do our duly elected officials simply census the will of the people and speak on their collective behalves as a Representative Republic would require. They have stolen our voice and speak in our stead. Madison forewarned us all in Federalist #51 what would happen if the governed were to cede power to the government. We have sewn through our silence and now reap the bitter stench of it's fruit.
Shame on us all! We all seem to busy to do our duty. We rely solely on the public education system to teach our children; we're to lazy to get off our dead asses and vote en-Mass. Heck, we can't even turn out 50% of the population of registered voters to cast their ballots on any given election day. That ballot my fellow citizen; is your voice, your will, your power yet we throw it away like alms to the poor through our silence and inactions. We ARE reaping what we have sewn, God save us all.

Learn more about this author, American-warrior.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Understanding democracy?
We want to hear your view. Write now!