Have we forgotten our history?
We were never founded as a democracy -- i.e., majority (mob) rule. We were founded as a republic (rule of law)! You will not find the word ‘democracy’ in our Constitution, the Bill of Rights or any of the 50 state constitutions. At the close of the Constitutional Convention, a lady asked George Washington what type of government we had, and George replied, ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’
The first widespread use referring to our nation as a democracy was by President Wilson. In fact in The Federalist Papers, there is an essay discussing democracies. Our founding fathers denounced them as being very unstable and a transition stage from a republic to a dictatorship -- and that is the direction we are headed in! Please stop referring to our nation as a democracy, and perhaps it will catch on with others.
But it was Ben Franklin who replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
The first widespread use referring to our nation as a democracy was by President Wilson. In fact in The Federalist Papers, there is an essay discussing democracies. Our founding fathers denounced them as being very unstable and a transition stage from a republic to a dictatorship -- and that is the direction we are headed in! Please stop referring to our nation as a democracy, and perhaps it will catch on with others.
But it was Ben Franklin who replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
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