The United States of America is not a democracy, and it never has been. We are a Republic, created that way by our Founding Fathers, and having continued that way since then. When Benjamin Franklin was asked what type of government the Founding Fathers had decided on, he said "A Republic, if you can keep it."
2007-02-12 15:34:07 · 19 answers · asked by Just Me 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
Because the American public as a whole is incredibly ignorant when it comes to our countries history......if they actually listened to the Pledge of Allegiance they would have figured it out.......it's the same thing as saying that the phrase "seperation of church and state" is in the constitution......it's not..........
2007-02-12 15:38:39 · answer #1 · answered by letitcountry 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Yes people do call the United States a democracy and that's just a common usage and misapplication of the term 'Democracy'. What the United States is...is a: Constitutional Republic. We have a representative government (Republic) which functions under a governing charter (The Constitution).
2007-02-12 15:47:17 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hit this website and have a better understanding. My take is we operate the Republic under the principles of democracy. However a Democracy could not survive under a Confederation; first proved in the Colonies since a Confederation typically is very strong on states rights with national rights suborning to them
Good tough question that has been debated for years.
2007-02-12 15:39:27 · answer #3 · answered by Jim from the Midwest 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Why, because they have been led to believe that this country is governed by the will of the majority. But, when less than half the people vote, and most of them are completely uninformed about what is really going on, all the talk is rendered meaningless. If we had taken Eisenhower's warning seriously, or been even a little bit informed over the last fifty years, we wouldn't be in danger of losing the Republic you speak of. Now, however, it is all quietly slipping away as we sleep. We had all better wake up and get informed, or we may all find ourselves doing menial labor for the Chinese. http://www.freedom.org/naugreen2/player.html
2007-02-12 15:37:47 · answer #4 · answered by michaelsan 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Yes. It's a simple smear against the new administration's legislative agenda. Because Obama wants to have more government regulation in his agenda, conservatives attack him stating that he is a "socialist" when in reality, our current government is nothing like socialism at all. In socialism, everyone is declared equal to one another and are STRICTLY regulated by a small amount of elected officials. The government is breathing down your neck at all time and there is no free market for people to participate in.
2016-05-24 03:59:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a Democratic Republic. The supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by their elected agents under a free electoral system. It's not a pure democracy, which would be chaos.
2007-02-12 15:40:25 · answer #6 · answered by Eukodol 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the real misinformation is when people say a republic is governed by representatives for the people. this is a misnomer. "We the People" is the constitution the representatives are governed by the rule of law set forth by the constitution and the laws that followed. every time someone says "well a majority of the people want ____" they are again wrong to asses that means the elected representatives should do as the "people" (small p) want.
2007-02-12 15:44:53 · answer #7 · answered by CaptainObvious 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is no such thing as democracy as it was supposed to be.
The US calls itself a democracy because it holds elections but when you examine some of the practices that go on in the US it harks back to the democracies of 18th Century England.
There is mass gerrymandering, the use of a Presidential beto to over rule elected representatives in Congress, the disqualifying of many minority cultures when voting comes, the buying of votes, the buying of politicians, the money making for the big business and the ignoring the poorer voters, and a huge inability to listen to the public voice.
That ain't democracy. Socrates and Plato would be turning in their graves.
2007-02-12 19:19:02 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Ben Franklin also said that Democracy is two lions and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb...
or something to that effect.
2007-02-12 15:38:30 · answer #9 · answered by Morey000 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
both a republic and democracy should not be in the United States. What should be is freedom and liberty for all. Anyone agree?
2007-02-12 15:44:31 · answer #10 · answered by chicken 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋