Essential concepts--we are not a 'democracy' but a 'republic'

October 27, 4:51 PMColumbia Conservative ExaminerAnthony G. Martin

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An essential concept in understanding the American form of government is that we are not a 'democracy' but a 'republic.'  Nothing could be any more vital to an accurate grasp of the nature of our government than this, and nothing could be more key to our survival as a nation.

To put it very simply, 'democracy' means 'majority rule.'  On the surface this sounds great.  But look deeper and it is frighteningly ominous.

For example, if we were living in a democracy, a simple majority vote could result in your house being taken from you for no reason other than to give it to someone else.  A simple majority could decide that you should be thrown out to live in the street, begging for food and shelter.

One of my favorite examples of a democracy in action is the scenario where a simple majority votes that females who have brown eyes and dark brown hair are to be banned from driving.

'That's ludicrous,' you say.  Sure it is.  But if we are living under a system governed by 'majority rule,' what is to prevent such a thing from happening, or indeed, what is to prevent the 'majority' from essentially doing anything they want to do, including taking away your rights, robbing you of your children, or any number of outrageous atrocities?

We need to drop the term 'democracy' from our vocabulary altogether when it comes to describing our government.  Nowhere in our founding documents is the word 'democracy' used--not in the Declaration of Independence, not in the U.S. Constitution, and not in the state Constitutions of ANY of the 50 states.

What you WILL find, however, is the term 'republic.'

The reason is not far to find.  The Founders were careful to set up a Republic, not a Democracy.  They said so themselves on numerous occasions, as this excellent video shows.  The video will take 10 minutes to watch, but it is well worth the time.

Thus, what, exactly, is a Republic?  The terms denotes a form of government that is based upon the rule of law as delineated in a document called a 'constitution.'  That constitution sets up the pillars of government and then proceeds to delineated clear limitations on that government in order to prevent it from encroaching on the rights of the people.

This is why, then, that even if a majority of citizens vote to ban brown-eyed, brown-haired females from driving, such a thing would not stand.  Why?  Due to the fact that we are Republic governed by the rule of law set forth in a constitution, the majority does not have the right to limit the freedoms of others.  The liberties of the minorities are protected from any encroachment by the majority.

In like manner, the majority cannot vote to take your house away and force you to live on the street as a beggar, neither can it rob you of your children.  The rule of law prevents such atrocities from happening, no matter what they 'majority' of the people think.

So where, then, did we get this notion that we are living in a 'democracy' where the 'majority rules'?

I have a theory about that.  I maintain that such a notion got its impetus from the 'progressive movement' of the late 1800s and early 1900s, with individuals such as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and others, who had a vested interested in undermining the clear rule of law as delineated in our Constitution.

The 'progressives,' who have been called various terms throughout the decades, such as 'liberals,' 'leftists,' and the like, want no limitations on the power of a centralized government to make decisions that fly in the face of every known principle of liberty affirmed in the Constitution.  In fact, this is precisely why they speak so often of 'democracy' and 'majority rule.'  They believe that by convincing an unschooled populace that they live in a democracy, then they can simply influence them to  vote themselves into slavery to the government and limit the rights of their fellow citizens.

After all, a 'simple majority vote' is all it takes, right?

WRONG!  Mob rule is very dangerous.

We will take a deeper look into this issue in tomorrow's column.

For commentary on other issues, visit my blog at The Liberty Sphere.