Is the US a democracy?

[Liability]

Which is why I say you are a form of democracy.

The likes of Big Reb hate the term because they think it is two wolves and sheep sitting down to decide what is for dinner. There is no definitive meaning of democracy - there are several meanings.

For example NZ is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy while Aussie is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy.

Note there is no use of the word democracy in either description, but rest assured both systems are a form of democracy....

I have already conceded that there is a valid connection between democracy and republic. But that does not make a republic a democracy. And the United States is a republic, not a democracy.

In that case there are no democracies in the western world...

So? I mean seriously. So what?

 

[Annie]

Which is why I say you are a form of democracy.

The likes of Big Reb hate the term because they think it is two wolves and sheep sitting down to decide what is for dinner. There is no definitive meaning of democracy - there are several meanings.

For example NZ is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy while Aussie is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy.

Note there is no use of the word democracy in either description, but rest assured both systems are a form of democracy....

I have already conceded that there is a valid connection between democracy and republic. But that does not make a republic a democracy. And the United States is a republic, not a democracy.

In that case there are only two democracies in the western world...

Pure democracies? Perhaps in some rural areas on local matters? I don't know of any.

Pure democracy needs to be local and with a homogeneous group of people, otherwise it will lead to violence and anarchy, as Plato pointed out eons ago. Even in Athens, problems arose...

 

[Dr Grump]

I have already conceded that there is a valid connection between democracy and republic. But that does not make a republic a democracy. And the United States is a republic, not a democracy.

In that case there are no democracies in the western world...

So? I mean seriously. So what?

Exactly. It doesn't really matter to you and I directly, but to the likes of BigReb and those uber conservatives it's huge.

You see, because the main reason they've got a bug up their arse about being a republic than a democracy is because they see most of western Europe (and probably Canada and Oceania too) as a democracy, and that is one of the main things that is supposed to set your system apart from the rest. They are convinced that yours is the best system in the world for being 'free' and 'for the people'. This delusion of theirs is hit square in the face if you even mention the words 'democracy' and 'constitutional republic' in the same sentence.

So to counter that, the likes of bigreb says 'what does Article 4 say?'. And I say, 'ok, using that standard there are only three countries of the western world that would fit the rules according to his system in that they use the word democracy (or a deriviative thereof) in the official description of their political system - the Netherlands, Switzerland and Canada. Of those three, only the Swiss could be accused of having a system that would BigRed the heebee geebees.

Anyway, my two cents..

 

[Robert_Stephens]

Annie and Liability are correct, since the wording and background of us becoming a nation state, is the clause that so haunts the rest of the nation states, past and present: "We the people......"

To this day, what we are is a gathering place of all the misfits and outcasts of creation, who wanted to gather, and make a stand in self determination. The world was floored as the decades went by. Still is.

It is, and has been, a very unusual experiment. The only crux of same as for now is the $15,200,000,000,000 debt, and that is serious business, no matter how it is sliced.

But we remain and continue the grand voyage. And it was never, ever to be thought of as a "democracy", ever.....

Robert

 

[bigrebnc1775]

What is your definition of democracy....

I mean there are several definitions in the dictionary - one of which fits your govt - but, hey if you want to change meanings of words, go for it.

From now on the word 'car' means 'dog'. A 'tree' is a 'movie' and the 'moon' is actual actually a 'house'....

What does Article 4 section 4 say?

I've read what it says. I know the very idea of having anything to do with a democracy sends shivers up your spine. Whether you like it or not, if the show fits etc....

Again what does Article 4 section 4 in the Constitution say? That's what we are supposed to be. Has it been changed through the amendment process such as the 17th amendment? Yes it has.

 

[konradv]

I guess Britain isn't a democracy, either. They have a monarch as head of state and a Prime Minister as head of government who isn't elected by popular vote, but by winning the most seats in Parliament. The whole question seems to be a distinction without much of a difference.

 

[naturegirl]

Google is your friend.

The United States is, indeed, a republic, not a democracy. Accurately defined, a democracy is a form of government in which the people decide policy matters directly--through town hall meetings or by voting on ballot initiatives and referendums. A republic, on the other hand, is a system in which the people choose representatives who, in turn, make policy decisions on their behalf. The Framers of the Constitution were altogether fearful of pure democracy. Everything they read and studied taught them that pure democracies "have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths" (Federalist No. 10).

By popular usage, however, the word "democracy" come to mean a form of government in which the government derives its power from the people and is accountable to them for the use of that power. In this sense the United States might accurately be called a democracy. However, there are examples of "pure democracy" at work in the United States today that would probably trouble the Framers of the Constitution if they were still alive to see them. Many states allow for policy questions to be decided directly by the people by voting on ballot initiatives or referendums. (Initiatives originate with, or are initiated by, the people while referendums originate with, or are referred to the people by, a state's legislative body.) That the Constitution does not provide for national ballot initiatives or referendums is indicative of the Framers' opposition to such mechanisms. They were not confident that the people had the time, wisdom or level-headedness to make complex decisions, such as those that are often presented on ballots on election day.

ThisNation.com--Is the United States a democracy?

 

[Late2TheParty]

tell us why you believe it is or is not.

We are set up as a democratic republic federally.

 

[Truthmatters]

and every label you people keep giving our democracy is still a form of democracy.

look in the dictionary (any fucking one)

Now look in an encyclopdia ( any fucking one)


You will observe that they all are labeled democracies.

The United States of American is and has always been a Democracy.

 

[Truthmatters]

"The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations."--Thomas Jefferson


"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs."--- Thomas Jefferson


“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”Thomas Jefferson

A government afraid of its citizens is a Democracy. Citizens afraid of government is tyranny!" --Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson knew it

 

[DiamondDave]

and every label you people keep giving our democracy is still a form of democracy.

look in the dictionary (any fucking one)

Now look in an encyclopdia ( any fucking one)


You will observe that they all are labeled democracies.

The United States of American is and has always been a Democracy.

We have shown your idiot ass over and over and over and over again, thru definition and reality that we do not have a democracy and that we do indeed have a constitutional representative republic...

And no matter how many times you hold your fingers in your ears and shout "la la la la la la la", our country is not going to magically become a democracy

 

[TakeAStepBack]

What grade are you going into next year?

 

[Intense]

Progressives hate that we're a Republic, they hate the electoral college and they hate our economic system...what do they like about America?

The Free Stuff.

 

[Robert_Stephens]

I will cautiously assist.

We are a Constitutional Federal Republic. We are unlike any nation state on Earth because of this. The crowning achievement of this endeavor has been the essence of a true Democracy by the fact we are first constitutional. "We The People....". But the fear is that if we drift too far in socialism, the oligarchy replaces the 'we the people', as all swaddling left wing flaming democracies have globally down to themselves in the past.

We are still the beckoning point for those wanting to try to carve out their own slice of the Grand Idea-- to garner self worth through the concept of republic faith in self determination to make and sell things, profit therewith, and tax remains hopefully under 20% to make the whole thing work.

It has.

We are rapidly sliding into a debt based oligarchy, but it can be repealed through true conservatism. not though infringement of rights, but through fiscal responsible action.

Consider.

Robert

 

[bigrebnc1775]

and every label you people keep giving our democracy is still a form of democracy.

look in the dictionary (any fucking one)

Now look in an encyclopdia ( any fucking one)


You will observe that they all are labeled democracies.

The United States of American is and has always been a Democracy.

what does Article 4 section 4 in the Constitution say?

 

[Intense]

I guess there are two Legitimate paths to material gain in some peoples eyes. Vote and Labor. Too often Vote becomes Highway Robbery. That's what happens when we lose perspective.

 

[Truthmatters]

why are you on the right so desperate to redefine the word Democracy ?

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Why are you so deperately ignorant? It's actually frightening.

 

[Intense]

why are you on the right so desperate to redefine the word Democracy ?

What is Federalism TM? Enlighten us.

 

[Truthmatters]

Why do you keep refusing all the dictionary and encylcopedia defintions ?

Why is it so important to the right to hate the word democracy?


What do you think you will gain from such stupidity?