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American Government 101
- Mar 6, 2009 at 3:06 PM
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- Comments (2) Total Views (81) Everyone can see this journal post.
What sort of government do we have in America?
Chances are, you just thought "a democracy". This is the common misconception today. Our founding fathers did NOT create a democratic system, in fact they loathed the idea of a democracy.
The government that they created here is actually a Republic.
Please do not identify these 2 words (democracy and republic) with the 2 most powerful political parties in our current system. Those labels do not have any relevance. The Democrats do not want a democracy, the Republicans do not want a Republic. And keep in mind that these parties did not exist when our country was created, our founders actually advised against political parties, they wanted us to vote for people NOT parties.
Anyway, back to the point...
What is the core difference between a Democracy and a Republic?
In a Republic, the people vote on their local and state representatives, who then act in the government on behalf of the people who voted for them.
In a Democracy, individuals vote on everything. There are no representatives. Ultimately, majority rules.
What we have today is neither. What we have today is called an Oligarchy.
In an Oligarchy, political power is not in the hands of the people at all, as in a Republic and a Democracy. An Oligarchy is controlled by a small group of people who are rich and powerful. Their control is based on the economy and it ultimately causes those who are lower on the economic scale to be subservient to the will of those who are higher on the economic scale.
The founding fathers knew that an Oligarchy would be inevitable if the people were not educated about their fundamental rights as a human being. This is why they created the Bill of Rights.
They did not "give" us these rights. They created a list of rights that we should never allow the government to take from us, because they knew they would try. Taking away any of these rights would mean tyranny, as it would deprive us of our power to keep our government in check.
The right to peacefully assemble is not meant to allow people to gather on the street with signs to protest the actions of others, like animal rights activists protesting the production of beef and chicken.
It was intended to allow us all to assemble in front of Congress and ask them politely to respect the wishes of the people rather than acting in their own personal or financial interest.
The right to bear arms is not intended to protect a person's right to hunt, but to ensure us the freedom to form a militia to rise up against a tyrannous government, if they do not comply with what we have peacefully assembled to request they do.
The freedoms of speech, press, etc. are not intended only to preserve your right to have your own personal opinions and share them with others. Those rights were meant to ensure that the people would always have a voice. A free press is something that the government is not allowed to control, because doing so would inevitably mean the only views that would be expressed in the media would be their own, therefore turning the press into a machine of mass propaganda.
They wanted us to have press not affiliated with those in political power, so that we could know the truth and share the truth with one another. So the government would not control what people think. So that we can make sure they are doing what We The People want them to do. The press is not supposed to be used to convince the people that the government IS doing what they should be doing, but to allow the people to question whether they are or not.
The Constitution was not created to dictate to the people what our Rights are, but to limit the power of government. It tells the elected officials what their responsibilities are to the people, which are really very few. They are meant to protect a person's inherent rights and property.
"Law enforcement" is intended to ensure that your rights are not violated by another, but it has since turned into enforcing the heaps of unnecessary legislation created by the government, because those in power simply do not believe that we are smart enough to govern ourselves.
Our founding fathers went out on a limb when they created our Constitution and Bill of Rights. They believed in the people, atleast enough to begin this experiment. They believed that we could all be smart enough to control our own lives. They did admit however, that if we trusted our government, this experiment of theirs would not work for long. They admitted that if We The People put too much faith in their system of checks and balances between government branches, this system would fail.
Because, ultimately, WE are the final check of the system. They made it so. They gave us the final say in everything when they stated in the Constitution that anything they didn't mention directly was to be decided by the people of each state. WE have grown apathetic. WE are the reason that this government has been able to gain so much control over us. WE have given up our freedom to them by believing that they govern us, rather than vice versa.
An old tale of our Constitution says that after they met and officially approved the Constitution and officially created our system of government, a woman asked Benjamin Franklin what sort of government they had created...
"A Republic, ma'am," he replied, "If YOU can keep it."
Chances are, you just thought "a democracy". This is the common misconception today. Our founding fathers did NOT create a democratic system, in fact they loathed the idea of a democracy.
The government that they created here is actually a Republic.
Please do not identify these 2 words (democracy and republic) with the 2 most powerful political parties in our current system. Those labels do not have any relevance. The Democrats do not want a democracy, the Republicans do not want a Republic. And keep in mind that these parties did not exist when our country was created, our founders actually advised against political parties, they wanted us to vote for people NOT parties.
Anyway, back to the point...
What is the core difference between a Democracy and a Republic?
In a Republic, the people vote on their local and state representatives, who then act in the government on behalf of the people who voted for them.
In a Democracy, individuals vote on everything. There are no representatives. Ultimately, majority rules.
What we have today is neither. What we have today is called an Oligarchy.
In an Oligarchy, political power is not in the hands of the people at all, as in a Republic and a Democracy. An Oligarchy is controlled by a small group of people who are rich and powerful. Their control is based on the economy and it ultimately causes those who are lower on the economic scale to be subservient to the will of those who are higher on the economic scale.
The founding fathers knew that an Oligarchy would be inevitable if the people were not educated about their fundamental rights as a human being. This is why they created the Bill of Rights.
They did not "give" us these rights. They created a list of rights that we should never allow the government to take from us, because they knew they would try. Taking away any of these rights would mean tyranny, as it would deprive us of our power to keep our government in check.
The right to peacefully assemble is not meant to allow people to gather on the street with signs to protest the actions of others, like animal rights activists protesting the production of beef and chicken.
It was intended to allow us all to assemble in front of Congress and ask them politely to respect the wishes of the people rather than acting in their own personal or financial interest.
The right to bear arms is not intended to protect a person's right to hunt, but to ensure us the freedom to form a militia to rise up against a tyrannous government, if they do not comply with what we have peacefully assembled to request they do.
The freedoms of speech, press, etc. are not intended only to preserve your right to have your own personal opinions and share them with others. Those rights were meant to ensure that the people would always have a voice. A free press is something that the government is not allowed to control, because doing so would inevitably mean the only views that would be expressed in the media would be their own, therefore turning the press into a machine of mass propaganda.
They wanted us to have press not affiliated with those in political power, so that we could know the truth and share the truth with one another. So the government would not control what people think. So that we can make sure they are doing what We The People want them to do. The press is not supposed to be used to convince the people that the government IS doing what they should be doing, but to allow the people to question whether they are or not.
The Constitution was not created to dictate to the people what our Rights are, but to limit the power of government. It tells the elected officials what their responsibilities are to the people, which are really very few. They are meant to protect a person's inherent rights and property.
"Law enforcement" is intended to ensure that your rights are not violated by another, but it has since turned into enforcing the heaps of unnecessary legislation created by the government, because those in power simply do not believe that we are smart enough to govern ourselves.
Our founding fathers went out on a limb when they created our Constitution and Bill of Rights. They believed in the people, atleast enough to begin this experiment. They believed that we could all be smart enough to control our own lives. They did admit however, that if we trusted our government, this experiment of theirs would not work for long. They admitted that if We The People put too much faith in their system of checks and balances between government branches, this system would fail.
Because, ultimately, WE are the final check of the system. They made it so. They gave us the final say in everything when they stated in the Constitution that anything they didn't mention directly was to be decided by the people of each state. WE have grown apathetic. WE are the reason that this government has been able to gain so much control over us. WE have given up our freedom to them by believing that they govern us, rather than vice versa.
An old tale of our Constitution says that after they met and officially approved the Constitution and officially created our system of government, a woman asked Benjamin Franklin what sort of government they had created...
"A Republic, ma'am," he replied, "If YOU can keep it."
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Jen, you need to come over and hang out! A couple of my mama friends have a mothers for liberty group, we believe in the basic principles of our forefathers and the Constitution. My friends all home schooelrs but they love me any way and we would love for you to hang with us. You really need to get out more lol. I am not sure if I just rubbed you the wrong way or something when you came over that one day because we have never hung out again.
- TinasTribe
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