Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Somebody's not clear on the concept...

here:

DALLAS — Anyone turning in their U.S. citizenship application on Wednesday or after will have to learn "What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?"' and "What does the Constitution do?"

This country wasn't set up as a democracy per se; in fact, the word "democracy" appears nowhere in that document. And there were reasons for that, not the least of which was that it's all too easy for individual rights -- such as, to cite a pertinent example, the Right to Keep And Bear Arms -- to be sacrificed to the whim of the majority under the democratic form of government, whereas in a republic, there are certain safeguards to reduce the likelihood of that happening. I have to wonder, are there any questions about which form of government the Founding Fathers actually set up in the Constitution? And are there any questions about the differences between that form of government and a pure "democracy"? I'm betting there isn't. And that's just downright pathetic.