In Defense of the Republic
Many citizens of this fine land describe it as a "democracy" in their conversation about our government and elections. There is an element of democracy in every representative form of government, but that does not make a given country a democracy.
The United States of America - notice the plural on what makes up America, several sovereign states - was founded with clear understanding that each of the original states - and those to be added over the years - were "Free and Independent States" (last paragraph of the Declaration of Independence).
The federal government is chartered as a representative bi-cameral legislature, wherein elected officials vote as they see fit, not as the masses of voters tell them to vote. Each citizen votes to elect to congress a person who represents hundreds of thousands of other citizens. Certain authority is ceded to the federal government, while all other authority resides with the states and the citizens. A democracy would require that each citizen get a vote on each issue. That is not how our country was defined nor is it feasible.
Further, the word, "democracy", is not even contained in our Constitution.
But the notion of a federal (shared authority), representative (somebody other than the voter makes law) republic (a government that is not royalty) is spoken of clearly in Article I (describing the Congress), Article II (describing the election of the President), Article III (describing the jurisdiction of the various courts), Article IV (describing the relationship between states), Article V (describing the amending of the Constitution), and Article VII (describing the adoption of the Constitution). Additionally, this notion of representative, rather than direct, government is held up in myriad amendments - most notably for many patriots in the 10th Amendment.
Perhaps the most important - and most misunderstood - application of representative government is found in the establishment of the Electoral College, Article II, second paragraph. How many Americans head to the polls every four years thinking they are voting for the President? That would be a sample of democracy. But our "popular vote" does not elect the President and the mistaken belief that it does is evident after each close election.
Let us cherish the ideal of democracy - wherein the governed have a hand in their government - but let us not be deceived into thinking we live in a democracy, where mob rule would end up being the standard. The unchecked majority is as capable of every evil as a wicked dictator. Our Founders were wise beyond their own wisdom in crafting for this country a representative federal republic as a means to diffuse the power of rule and its corrupting influence.
This chilling observation is attributed to Alexander Franklin Tytler, made in the late 18th century: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, followed always by a dictatorship.
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, and from dependency back into bondage."
Where are we, as a country, on this scale?
Alexis de Tocqueville remarked, "The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money."
Where does your candidate for office stand? Where do you stand?
Let each citizen seek what is right and best for the country and he will be well served. If we vote for our own shortsighted self-interest, we will end up being ruled by masters who control our lives through the dispensing of governmental influence and wealth.
Democracy in its true form cannot be sustained, for people are too self-interested to be entrusted with the reigns of government. We need the protection of a representative who, we pray, loves country more than his own office.
May God continue to bless this great land and cause us to seek men of stout hearts who love freedom and truth more than power and fame.
Sincerely,
Stuart L. Brogden
10 Sep 2004