His immediate response was " a Republic " He then said " Ma'am - if you can keep it. "
Yet Americans today have been persuaded that our nation's governmental system is a democracy and not a republic The difference between these two is essential in understanding Americanism and the American system Before we discuss political systems however it's helpful to address the confusion that has been spread about the political spectrum. Many have been led to believe that the political spectrum places groups such as communists on the far left; fascists or dictators on the far right and political moderates or centrists in the middle.
However a more accurate political spectrum will show the government having zero power on the far right to having 100% power on the far left. On the extreme right, there is no government. The extreme left features total government under such labels as communism socialism nazism fascism.
America's Founders had a clean slate to write on. They could have set up an oligarchy; in fact there were some who wanted George Washington to be their king. But the founding fathers knew history and they chose to give us the rule of law in a republic not the rule of a majority in a democracy .
To demonstrate the difference in the setting of the Old West, consider a lynch mob in a democracy.
Thirty five horseback riders chase one lone gunman. They catch him and they vote thirty five to one to hang him. Democracy has triumphed and there's one less gunman to contend with.
Now consider the same scenario in a republic. The thirty five horseback riders catch the gunman and vote thirty five to one to hang him. But the sheriff arrives and he says " you can't kill him. He's got his right to a fair trial. " So they take the gunman back to town. A jury of his peers is selected and they hear the evidence and the defense and they decide if he shall hang.
Does the jury even decide by majority rule? No. It has to be unanimous or he goes free.
The rights of the government aren't subject to the majority rule, but to the law.
This is the essence of a republic.
Knowing this. we as Americans are ultimately left with only two choices: we can keep our republic as Franklin put it or we will inevitably end up with an oligarchy: a tyranny of the elite.
transcript of video published 2013 by RCO64 who describes himself as
a Capitalist Libertarian. I strongly support low taxes, smaller government, fewer social programs, and oppose laws and regulations that limit our freedoms. I believe that modern American Liberalism is an ideology that is the enemy of all people and the scourge of the poor and minorities. I also believe that man-made global warming theory is a political movement not a scientific one and is the greatest fraud ever perpetrated against the people of the world.
