A lot of people, when talking about freedoms on here, claim, "We live in a DEMOCRACY! Everything is decided by the people!" Technically, we live in a Republic. Why do people argue immediately, when freedoms are in question, that we live in a fair democracy? Support your reasoning.
@indie55 Thank's for posting that. Lots of info in the CIA Factbook site. Wow, Obama only won by about 6%. The US is the biggest consumer of cocaine. 3rd largest country in the world by land after Russia and Canada. Largest coal reserves in the world.
For those of you too lazy to click, under 'government' it said the US government is a "Constitution-based federal republic"
I think we're all in agreement that the US is a Republic. So what else are we arguing about? Europe has shown better democratic tradition but I wouldn't say their political systems have proven to be any better. We're just in a slump. What proves they have a better government? Personally I find it hard to rank different ones when it comes to modern countries. And the electoral college is just a bunch of people that give out votes on a winner takes all basis. I'd rather have had the Florida votes cancelled, and the presidency decided by the incoming house. Personally that would have been better for me.
Did you read any of GoblinD's posts? Not everyone is in agreement.
I never said one type was better than another, but when a thread questions rights in America, many claim "We're free because we're in a DEMOCRACY" as an arguement. I wanted to see the basis for their claims.
Did you read any of GoblinD's posts? Not everyone is in agreement.
I did read them I must have misunderstood them. I thought he was saying that our nation is democratic, like it has the traditions of a democracy that are reflected in its Republican government.
Personally, I don't think we're free because we're in a democracy, I think we're free because we have democratic ideals and our likeness for individualism. A good example is the colonial trial of John Peter Zinger. He was tried for libel against the government, but, [unlike England where he would have been convicted] he was found not guilty because he could express his ideals. Although this trials was like, in the 17th century, it was an early showing of how we like to give autonomy to individuals. This is represented in our government, as we allow ourselves to vote. The only difference is that we give up some of that autonomy by electing representatives to speak for us. These representatives are where the corruption lies. If start from the bottom up, the US Government starts with the entire population in question being eligible to vote for something --> Democratic. Just, as you go up the system these people let others do the talking, which makes it more a Republic and less of a Democracy. This is why I think the factbook says we have strong democratic traditions.
This says we aren't a democracy. We just have "strong democratic tradition".
It says "strong democratic tradition". Like any other modern country the ancient Greek democratic system cannot work so a 100% democracy will not happen in a modern country. Strong democratic tradition means USA is a modern democratic nation by modern standards, look at how it explains other countries for other examples.
I personalty think it is not a Democracy nor Republic. Nether party never really stays true to the word. So it can be hard sometimes trying to configure on what the government really is.
Okay, So a Republic is essentially where your head of state is not a monarch. [True of the USA] Now, a Democracy is a government where all have equal say in their lives [Seeing as you're not voting on whether a bill is passed, and Congress is, we can say this is not entirely true, even though we have elected Congress through democratic means] Furthermore, a Representative Democracy is founded on the idea of elected individuals representing the people. [True of the USA, but not entirely what our government is, and is usually based on 'virtual' representation. Meaning an elected official represents everyone, not just his area such as senators and congressmen do in the states]] A Constitutional Republic is where the head of state and officials are representatives of the people, but limited by a constitution. Also, it's government is divided in three of executive, judiciary, and legislative. The fact that the judiciary branch may review the laws based on their constitutionality (and not the people) also makes the state a republic. [What the USA is] That being said, a constitutional republic is pretty much a form of a representative democracy.
And so, for this reason, the United States is better termed as a Constitutional Republic with strong democratic tradition, that bases it's government on a Federal level that is headed by an executive, better known as the president.
It would only truly be a democracy when all the laws are determined on the only the people. Not the president or a elected official. Also anyone who is a a US citizen should be allowed to vote. Every age. That would really be democracy
Calling all the US citizens to meetings 10 times a day to vote on various types of crap like they did in ancient Greece hardly seems realistic. I don't think it would be a good idea to give 3 year old voting rights. Be patient you will get you're voting right soon
