Will, Did you even read the link that I posted? The questions you asked are answered within. I'll repost it here. http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/AmericanIdeal/aspects/demrep.html Here's a quote from within to spare you the trouble.. "These two forms of government: Democracy and Republic, are not only dissimilar but antithetical, reflecting the sharp contrast between (a) The Majority Unlimited, in a Democracy, lacking any legal safeguard of the rights of The Individual and The Minority, and (b) The Majority Limited, in a Republic under a written Constitution safeguarding the rights of The Individual and The Minority" The way the United States was founded was as a Republic, and it sounds an awful lot like (b) above. To give an example... If I want to say something bad about the President, say, for instance, that I think he's a Socialist. In a Democracy, I could be overridden by a majority vote of the population simply because they don't like me or what I say. They could take away my right to say bad things. Now in a Republic, like the United States, I have a Constitution that LIMITS the government from preventing me from speaking my mind, as outlined in the Bill of Rights, the so-called Freedom of Speech. I, as an individual, am protected from the Majority simply taking away my rights because they desire to, by the Constitution. What you think of as a Democracy, by the people electing a President, and a Congress, and a Senate is merely the way our country is run as outlined in the Constitution. That's how the founders decided to set up our government. 3 separate branches, all operating as checks and balances to each other. The Congress or the President doesn't dictate when there is going to be an election or if they want to take away your rights to assemble, or speak, or choose your own religion, or own a gun, or have a right to a jury trial. The people we vote for cannot take those away because our Republic LIMITS their abilities within the confines of the Constitution. Now, sure... they can create an amendment to the Constitution, as they've done a couple dozen times in the last 230 years, but it's not an easy or arbitrary process. As for telling you what to think, I would never want that job, nor do I have the right to. I simply want a limited government that let's me have my freedoms... my inalienable freedoms that I, and you, are entitled to, as spelled out in the Constitution. No sunglasses needed... :-) Rob Oh, by the way... You don't really elect a President. The citizens of the US never have. You vote for an electorate. THEY vote for the President and Vice President. And they have the legal authority to vote for someone other than who you want them to vote. Not quite what you envisioned? A President can win the popular vote by a landslide and still lose the election, as outlined by the Constitution. Again, this was to protect the rights of the smaller states, the minority... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College_(United_States) On Nov 02, 2010, at 16:08 , William Truitt wrote: > Since I really love democracy, I think I’ll go out and find a mob, and do some looting and pillaging. Can’t help myself, it’s my mentality. > > Pray tell, if it was never intended to be a democracy, why have we been electing people for the last 230 plus years? Who creates the laws in this Republic For Which We Stand? Inquiring minds want to know. Don’t tell the people they’ve been doing it all wrong all these years, they’ll be REALLY disappointed. I guess this means you get to be charge and tell the rest of us what to think, right? > > Will > (Glaring at you - put on your sunglasses - special prescription for myopia….)
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