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Why th US is not a democracy
We do not elect our president directly.
We do not elect federal judges.
We do not elect cabinet members.
We do have a constitution and a representative democracy.
We are a Constitutional Republic.
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Comments (5)
But only if the Constitution is truly respected by the president, our elected representatives, and the judiciary.
I *hope* we remain a Constitutional Republic.
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February 16, 2008 12:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
The curious thing about this is that our current president keeps telling the world that they have to switch to democracy, because democracies don't wage war on their neighbors. Now, clearly America does wage war on our neighbors - see Iraq, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, etc. Why are we so anxious to pick a form of government for the rest of the world, when we refuse to adopt that form for our own government? One would have to conclude that we want to retain our ability to wage war on our neighbors.
All snark aside, I do wish we could somehow make some big moves towards democracy. For example, we should elect a president by democracy. Why aren't we all embarrassed by our fear of doing so? Perhaps this isn't possible because the revisions needed to the constitution would be so great as to essentially open the whole document up for revisions, and that would likely mean we would become a nation with a state religion, with science officially restricted by the Bible, with revenge as the primary driver of our justice system, etc. For some reason we are all still proud to be Americans.
February 16, 2008 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's because it is a democratic republic.
February 16, 2008 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
I miss the Constitution.
February 16, 2008 2:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bev, you are saying we are not a democracy because we are not a democracy. My point is that we are so sure we are right in promoting democracy around the world, but we have no interest in having democracy here at home. I find that a curious situation because there is no public outrage about it.
February 16, 2008 5:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
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