If the government has forgotten who it serves; what can the people do to save Democracy?

Question

We've been lied to, our voices have been ignored and the very fabric of our Democracy, the Constitution has been savaged. As Ben Franklin stated,"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
We have ignored the warnings of our forefather's who in truth saw the very dangers we face today. Not from without as we have been lead to believe; but from within.
As Alexis de Tocqueville put it so plainly,"Of course the people dont want war...that is understood. But voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."
When we look at the last 5 year, can we truely say that we have not been lead to this moment by the well planned strategy of fear and manipulation?

Even Patrick Henry warned us, "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government -- lest it come to dominate our lives and interests." It is that very document that they are destroying! Which in turn strips us of our power to stop them.
James Madison said it best centuries ago,"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." The voices from the past have given voice to the troubles we now fight. What do we do now?

Answer 1

We the people need to take back our government. Quit asking the government to supply your every need! Stop the welfare, stop illegal immigration, clean our own back yard!!!

Answer 2

Your question has the air of consternation to it. Let me try to place your mind at rest...

All a government is, is a group of men and women who wear the habiliments of authority. This power is mighty, limited only by not a Constitution, but an informed, angry and determined individual.

One who has the ability to eloquently ignite the imagination, hope and passion of others.

Right now, even as you read these answers, there are thousands of worthy and strong men and women who have recognized the losses you mentioned, and also perceive the dire consequence of further apathy and cowardice.

They are now assessing what is best to do.

This is like a kindling. A dry, awaiting fuel source for a national conflagration.

But who will strike the match?

I'll tell you.

Seemingly, from out of nowhere, the man of the hour appears. Every contest has had one. He is now preparing to thrust the javelin into the eye of the Beast...not with arm, but with an infinitely more powerful propulsion.

It is the mind.

Man has the ultimate weaponry, not government.

The mind, if focussed, has the flint necessary to change history by perfect clarity and care of words.

When a pure heart speaks the truth, all governmments tremble. No power on earth can withstand the earthquake of a single, sincere, devoted man.

He is able to cause silence before the roar.

What he needs is but attention, and then, listen!

You will hear wisdom distilled from generations of drepavity, horrors and death unimaginable.

He will warn you of the pathway, and what each must do.

Listen to him when he speaks. Though he will hold no office, nor be known in any way as special...he is the source of the only solution to your woe.

The truth is so refreshing that you will feel alive once again.

Freedom will feel near, as you digest what he says to you.

When he rises to speak, (it will be next year) be sure to listen. Tell your friends, family and co-workers.

To continue the drone of everyday life will be death.

This is unacceptable to him, so when he speaks...listen.

Listen.

He has prepared with God the word.

O then, listen.

Answer 3

Wait...the GOVERNMENT is acting up, so you want to save DEMOCRACY, when democracy (or rather, representative democracy, often called plain democracy) was precisely what allowed people to vote in the stupid government in the first place? I think I've identified the problem here.

Representative democracy sounds like a nice idea at first, and I can hardly blame its founders for wanting to try it out. However, we have now seen hundreds of years of its history, and the facts speak for themselves: Representative democracy has failed. See, the original plan was based on the idea that people knew what was best for themselves. Again, this is a nice sentiment, but the fact is that people do NOT necessarily know what's best for themselves. And this plays right into the government's hands; a bad government will make people dumber and more ignorant, so that they have less idea of what's good for themselves, and then they vote in more bad governments, which make them even dumber and even more ignorant, so they vote in more bad governments, and so on. You end up with a vicious cycle in which people don't understand how to get what they want and keep voting for bad governments in the hope that somehow THIS time around they'll be good.

In short, the idea that leaders should be elected by the public just doesn't work in the long term. What we need is a meritocracy, a system in which leaders are chosen for actual intelligence, knowledge, morals and objectivity, based on psychological tests which are indiscriminate about things like skin color, gender and, most especially, empty promises. Representative democracy was an interesting experiment, but the future belongs to the meritocracy system.

Answer 4

The Constitution of the United State of America states that if at any given moment in time you the people believe that the government has been taken over by a foreign power you the people have the right to form a militia and take it back.

Answer 5

Where have you been this country was never set up for the working class, Some how the Republicans convinced alot of retarded people that don't know history or politics to vote for them, so they got what they deserved, sadly its bringing down the whole country as we have known it. The Democrats are the only party that believe in representing the working class, You fools that think taxes are not going to go up are flat stupid, the government always spends more that it takes in. The difference in the party's is that the Democrats believe in putting the money in social programs or infrastructure and the Republicans put in the big business pocket with tax breaks for the rich. Wake up America before we are all in poverty.

Answer 6

Poor people...whatever gave you the idea that the government (democracy or otherwise) ever was built to serve anyone other than the interests of the rich and powerful? In this case, that's the people profiting from this war, and whose sons and daughters will never have to fight in it. Look to U.S. history, and you will NEVER be able to identify a time when the U.S. government was responsive to the needs and desires of the majority of people. The closest would be the granting of supposed civil rights in the late 60s and early 70s, but our modern experience shows us that this was 1) done for the interests of the powerful and 2) not done completely in any regard.

Today is just like yesterday, and probably much like tomorrow will be.

Answer 7

FYI:

"The United States is, indeed, a republic, not a democracy. Accurately defined, a democracy is a form of government in which the people decide policy matters directly--through town hall meetings or by voting on ballot initiatives and referendums. A republic, on the other hand, is a system in which the people choose representatives who, in turn, make policy decisions on their behalf. The Framers of the Constitution were altogether fearful of pure democracy. Everything they read and studied taught them that pure 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" (Federalist No. 10)."

"By popular usage, however, the word "democracy" come to mean a form of government in which the government derives its power from the people and is accountable to them for the use of that power. In this sense the United States might accurately be called a democracy. However, there are examples of "pure democracy" at work in the United States today that would probably trouble the Framers of the Constitution if they were still alive to see them. Many states allow for policy questions to be decided directly by the people by voting on ballot initiatives or referendums. (Initiatives originate with, or are initiated by, the people while referendums originate with, or are referred to the people by, a state's legislative body.) That the Constitution does not provide for national ballot initiatives or referendums is indicative of the Framers' opposition to such mechanisms. They were not confident that the people had the time, wisdom or level-headedness to make complex decisions, such as those that are often presented on ballots on election day."

Answer 8

The people have only to stand up and do what is right. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country." The Constitution hasn't been ignored solely by our government, but also by our people. The responsibility is mutual, because a contract must be upheld from both ends. If you're concerned about the state of things, I recommend getting involved by vocally petitioning your representatives, hold them accountable. Also, spend time helping organizations that lobby for your causes, and encouragin fellow citizens to vote and investigate. America can be as great as we can make it.

Answer 9

WHAT democracy? we have a republic, period. the word, democracy is nowhere to be found in the constitution. the founding fathers decried the idea of a democracy, because history has shown that democracys tend to fail, and the result is either despotism or dictatorship. democracy also breeds greed and corruption. Loh, what am i saying:. as far as the democratsgo, well, we had a democratic president in the depression, and if you dont know what they did for the working class, then its no use trying to explain. i am 83 and i have seen it all. and what i see now makes me very very angry. this is my america and my republic, and NO one is going to take it away from me, so please, believe in it and do something about it.

Answer 10

Unfortunately in most cases, unless people are directly affected in their daily lives they will not do anything to fix the problem.

I'm afraid it's going to take a real big chain of disasters to get people to realize their voices are important and needed for a successful Democracy.

Answer 11

what is government? i think it is a body that was selected by people,so the people can change it. this is a popular function in democratic country , but in third world countries every thing is different.people haven;t any right to select and change government so whenever they can destruct all things and this is an important difference between industrial and undeveloped countries.