American Democracy or Not

I usually try to stay away from the political side of things when I’m writing for my blog…but there is really something that is bothering me.

The last two times that I went over my son’s history study sheets with him I noticed something…it doesn’t seem as though the school system is teaching our children that America is a republic. The questions all refer to our country as a democracy. I know right now that many of you are saying, who cares…what does that matter. Well to our Founding Fathers, it meant a great deal & should to us.

"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." James Madison

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." John Adams

"The experience of all former ages had shown that of all human governments, democracy was the most unstable, fluctuating and short-lived." John Quincy Adams

"Pure democracy cannot subsist long nor be carried far into the departments of state, it is very subject to caprice and the madness of popular rage." John Witherspoon, Signer of the Declaration

“A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” Thomas Jefferson

Our founding fathers called a democracy a “mobocracy”. Why? In a democracy style of government the mob rules. A pure democracy operates by direct majority vote of the people, whether those people are good or bad, they still rule, & as Karl Marx the father of communism, once stated “Democracy is the road to socialism” any government that follows a democracy style government will end up sooner or later a socialist or even worse a communist government.

In America we have gone from this…

“A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” Thomas Jefferson

to this…

“I always believe that ultimately, if people are paying attention, then we get good government and good leadership. And when we get lazy, as a democracy and civically start taking shortcuts, then it results in bad government and politics.” Barack Obama

But, what’s so amazing is that it’s not only Obama that believes that we are a democracy, but so did Bush Jr., Clinton & many other men who have held the office of President. They must not have known their history, this coming from a guy who would rather have watched grass grow or gouged out my own eyeballs with a spork than have sit through a history or social studies class. But I have learned the importance of knowing our history…it will be key to America’s survival.

Now, lets look at a republic. A republic is ruled by law, not a majority. A republic differs in that the general population elects representatives who then pass laws to govern the nation. So if the source of law for a democracy is the popular feeling of the people, then what is the source of law for the American republic? According to Founder Noah Webster:

“Our citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament, or the Christian religion.”

Are you starting to see why we are having this drift from the use of the word “republic”? The inspirational values of Biblical natural law were the foundation of the American republic. Think about the stability this provides: in our republic, murder will always be a crime, for it is always a crime according to the Word of God. But, in a democracy, if majority of the people decide that murder is no longer a crime, murder will no longer be a crime.

America's absolute principles of right and wrong were not based on the ever changing feelings and emotions of the people but rather on what Baron de Montesquieu identified as the "principles that do not change." Benjamin Rush stated that “Where there is no law, there is no liberty; and nothing deserves the name of law but that which is certain and universal in its operation upon all the members of the community.” The Founders understood that Biblical values formed the basis of the republic and that the republic would be destroyed if the people's knowledge of those values should ever be lost. Now the question is… Are we loosing our Biblical values? Look around, if you can’t see it your blind. We have not only lost our values, but those who are still holding on to them of the most part are not teaching them to their children, hence my frustration about my sons study sheet.
I have included a video that will more clearly explain this blog, check it out below & remember, we can either do something about our decline or just try & enjoy the short ride to the hard rocky bottom of the end of our republic & freedom as we know it.

Vern