The Newport Daily Express

Sorry Dems, Founders Actually Rejected Democracy

Harold Pease, Ph.D.

Democrats never use the word republic to describe our political system and Republicans rarely use it, both preferring to use the word democracy. Consequently most people ignorantly refer to our political system as a democracy and have to be reminded that this word is not in the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, or any other document given to us by our Founding Fathers. Our Pledge of Allegiance to the flag identifies our form of government as a republic. In the 2022 midterms the Democrat’s principle campaign slogan was saving democracy which is the antithesis of our republic. Why would we save that which our Founders clearly rejected?

Benjamin Franklin wrote in 1759, “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a wellarmed lamb contesting the vote.” A republic has seven major components necessary for liberty listed below. Necessary to democracy is majority rules.

First, the importance of majority rules is recognized but limited. Is the majority always right? No! Mother made this point when her teenager asked to smoke marijuana on the basis that everyone was doing it. She asked, “If everyone jumped off a bridge would you?” The Electoral College and Bill of Rights are based upon the recognition that the majority is not always right.

Second, minority rights (less than 50%) are protected FROM the majority in a republic. In Franklin’s analogy the lamb had the right to exist even if the majority, the wolves, disagreed. A lynch mob is a democracy, everyone votes but the one being hanged.

Even if caught in the act of a crime the accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence: protection of law, a judge, jury, witnesses for his defense, and a lawyer to argue his innocence; all necessary in a republic, even expensive. Then, if found guilty, hanged. Because democracy only considers majority rules it is much less expensive and decidedly faster. A rope tossed over a tree limb will do.

Third, a republic is based upon natural inalienable rights from God; first acknowledged in the Declaration of Independence. This document asserted to the world that we acknowledge that humans have rights from a source higher than mere man. A reference to deity is mentioned five times. If there is no God there can be no inalienable rights coming from Him and we are left with man as God. What man is good enough?

Fourth, a republic emphasizes individual differences, democracy absolute equality. We are not equal, even from the womb, and never will be if equality means sameness. An infant with a cleft pallet may need three operations to look normal. Some come out of the womb with a laptop, others with a basketball, and the real tough deliveries are from those bringing their golf clubs. One of my first great insights in life was that everyone was better at everything than I. A second, was that life is not fair and never will be. A third, free men are not equal and equal men are not free. Genetics makes one fat, another bald, and gives yet another terminal cancer in his youth.

Nor is monetary equality possible. Should I bestow my students each with a million dollars in exchange for everything they now own, shave their heads, and give them identical uniforms, to approximate sameness as much as possible, with the only requirement that they return in five years with some ledger of net worth. Would they be the same in what was left of the million? No! Work ethic and talent differ. Why does government try so hard to do that which is impossible? A republic looks upon our differences as assets ultimately benefiting everyone as was the invention of the automobile or computer. This is decidedly not the base of democracy.

Fifth, limited government is also a major aspect of a republic. Centralized government is good so long as it remembers that when it oversteps its bounds it becomes the greatest threat to liberty as it pulls decision-making power away from the individual. Excessive government, as the cause of the American Revolution, must never be forgotten. The Constitution as created, handcuffed the government from dominating our lives, thus the powers of the federal government were listed (Article I, Section 8). The Founders understood that the more government at the top the less at the bottom and that was the essence of freedom.

Sixth, a republic has frequent elections with options. Frequent elections happen in some socialist countries, so this alone does not ensure liberty. In fact, it may be somewhat deceiving as it fosters the notion that we choose, thus deserve, our elected officers. It also assumes that the people are correctly informed, which assumes a free press and equal access to ALL information. The part of the phrase “with options” is the part that ensures liberty. Elections under socialism provided choices but often no options as all participants are from the same party or ideology.

Seventh, in a republic exists a healthy fear of the emotion of the masses and of its potential to destabilize natural law upon which real freedom is based, as for example the notion that another’s wealth belongs to them through excessive taxation. Such destroys freedom as it had in Athens and Rome. We need a caring, sensitive, compassionate government but emotion must not be allowed to overwhelm reason and time-tested natural law constants. Aristotle taught that the poor will always envy the rich and that the rich will always have contempt for the poor. A republic will not allow the poor to destroy the rich in their quest for the wealth of the rich, but does incentivize the poor to increase their wealth thus becoming the middle class, which, in time, become the largest body.

As explained, democracy does not protect liberty and in time could become its enemy. In Ben Franklin’s analogy it would have allowed the wolves to have eaten the lamb simply because the lamb had been outvoted. No wonder our Founders rejected democracy in favor of a republic, something we too are obliged to do today to protect our liberty.

Dr. HDr. Harold W. Peasearold Pease is an expert on the United States Consitution and a syndicated columnist. He has dedicated his career to studying the writings of the Founding Fathers and applying that knowledge to current events. He taught history and political science from this perspective for over 30 years. Newspapers have permission to publish this column. Column # 689. To read more of his weekly articles, please visit www. LibertyUnderFire.org.

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2022-11-30T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-30T08:00:00.0000000Z

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