Why It Is Important To Understand The Constitutional Republic VS Democracy Debate

By Patty Goff


The US Constitution, in 1787, established a Republican form of government. It set down certain duties and responsibilities of a central, federal government and left all rights to the citizens of what was called a great experiment. Many countries, around the world, have what they call democracies and they are fairing much worse for the people of those countries. The debates about constitutional republic VS democracy, for many people who do not understand, continue.

What does set the United States apart from all other countries is that US Constitution that establishes a country with rights guaranteed to the people, not to the state. The setting up of the three branches of government, the legislative, executive and the judicial is to further deter any ambitious members of the federal government from creating a series of tyrannical edicts.

When dealing with a democracy, the vote, for whatever is being decided on, carries the issue and the majority wins. That vote will be for the leaders of the period and they will be the new masterminds as there is no separation of powers. They do not have the restrictions of a constitution to guide them and each new administration will change the rules, the laws and taxes as they see fit.

The true republican form of government will elect the various members of the House of Representatives, senate and the president. It is expected that these elected individuals will work together to enact reasonable laws and regulations. The will of the people should be considered for this to happen and, many times, compromises must be made before it becomes law.

A simple description of a democracy is majority rules. This type of government, or any other group of people, does not allow for the rights of minorities. It is simply mob rule and one vote can void what was done just a few months ago. It has also been described as a lunch vote, between 20 lions and 15 zebras. One group will win, disastrously.

It is important to note that the US Constitution had to be ratified, or accepted, by the majority of the current states in 1787. They had to say that they agreed to this document before it could be made the law of the land. This is important because it had never been done before in the history of the world. The people, of a majority of the states, must also accept any changes to it. They do not, in a republican form of government, get a chance to physically vote for everything that passes both houses of congress. They do, however, believe that the representatives they send should be tuned into their ideas.

The Constitution makes it plain what is to be done, even for issues that are not specifically mentioned in it. The guide that this gives the legislators is a bulwark against tyranny. The democracy, on the other hand, has no such guidelines. The elected members of the mastermind class, involved in a democracy, have no need to remember history. They have no need to connect causes and effect in their attempt to make everyone the same as everyone else.

The fact that the United States, in 2014, does not resemble a republican form of government is to every voters detriment. The framers of the Constitution created a republican, federal government. It did not want a national government which would have resembled a democracy they did not want to establish.




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