I can’t turn on the TV, or the Radio without hearing some political hack proclaiming that anyone who disagrees with them, and/or refutes and objects to their ideology, is somehow a threat to democracy. This is Cancel Culture rearing its ugly head again – I.E. mainstream media and the corporate press.
They are attempting to re-define and manipulate the terminology to sensationalize their broadcast, while using threatening and intimidating language to drive the fear factor. They believe that calling us White Supremacists, Radicals, Extremists, and Terrorists, will somehow have us hiding in fear of retaliation from our government. They are about to find out accountability will be demanded.
Is America a Democracy……?
While the word “democracy” does not appear in the United States Constitution, the document provides the basic elements of representative democracy: an electoral system based on majority rule, separation of powers, and a dependence on a rule of law. Also, America’s Founding Fathers used the word often when debating the form and function of the Constitution.
However, a long-running debate over whether the United States is a democracy or a republic continues today. According to a growing number of political scientists and constitutional scholars, it is both—a “democratic republic.”
The governments of democratic republics embrace the principles shared by both republics and democracies. In the United States, many decisions on local and state levels are made by the people through the process of direct democracy, while as in a republic, most decisions at the national level are made by democratically elected representatives.
Similar to democracy, a republic is a form of government in which the country is governed by the elected representatives of the people. However, since the people do not govern the state themselves, but do so through their representatives, a republic is distinguished from direct democracy.
Throughout history, more types of democracy have been identified than there are countries in the world. According to social and political philosophers, more than 2,234 adjectives have been used to describe democracy. While many scholars refer to direct and representative as the most common of these, several other types of democracies can be found around the world today. While direct democracy is unique, most other recognized types of democracy are variants of representative democracy.
Democracy Defined;
Democracy, literally meaning “rule by the people,” a democracy is a form of government that empowers the people to exercise political control, limits the power of the head of state, provides for the separation of powers between governmental entities, and ensures the protection of natural rights and civil liberties.
While democracies come in several forms, they all feature competitive elections, freedom of expression, and protection of individual civil liberties and human rights.
In most democracies, the needs and wishes of the people are represented by elected lawmakers who are charged with writing and voting on laws and setting policy.
When creating laws and policies, the elected representatives in a democracy strive to balance conflicting demands and obligations to maximize freedom and protect individual rights.
Democracy is also a system of government that not only allows but requires the participation of the people in the political process to function properly. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, in his famed 1863 Gettysburg Address may have best-defined democracy as, “a government of the people, by the people, for the people…”
Which begs the following question?
Which people within the democracy should be empowered to participate in it? Assuming that only adults are allowed to fully participate in the political process, should all adults be included? For example, until the enactment of the 19th Amendment in 1920, women in the United States were not allowed to vote in national elections. A democracy that excludes too many of the governed from taking part in what is supposed to be their government runs the risk of becoming an aristocracy—government by a small, privileged ruling class—or an oligarchy—government by an elite, typically wealthy, few.
Which residents of the country, state, or town should enjoy the political status of full citizenship? Simply stated, who are the “people” in the “government by the people” In the United States, for example, the constitutionally established doctrine of birthright citizenship provides that any person born on U.S. soil automatically becomes a U.S. citizen. Other democracies are more restrictive in bestowing full citizenship.
If, as one of the foundational principles of democracy holds, the majority rules, what will a “proper” majority be? A majority of all citizens or a majority of citizens who vote only? When issues, as they inevitably will, divide the people, should the wishes of the majority always prevail, or should, as in the case of the American Civil Rights Movement, minorities be empowered to overcome majority rule? Most importantly, what legal or legislative mechanisms should be created to prevent the democracy from becoming a victim of what one of America’s Founding Fathers, James Madison, called “the tyranny of the majority?”
There are as many theories concerned with democracy as there are governments in the world! Nevertheless, while democratic models might differ, the spirit of democracy continues to be upheld in almost every corner of the world!
Different types of democracy that exist today;
Direct
Originated in Ancient Greece during the 5th century BCE, direct democracy, sometimes called “pure democracy,” is considered the oldest non-authoritarian form of government. In a direct democracy, all laws and public policy decisions are made directly by a majority vote of the people, rather than by the votes of their elected representatives.
Representative
Also called indirect democracy, representative democracy is a system of government in which all eligible citizens elect officials to pass laws and formulate public policy on their behalf. These elected officials are expected to represent the needs and viewpoints of the people in deciding the best course of action for the nation, state, or other jurisdiction as a whole.
Participatory
In a participatory democracy, the people vote directly on policy while their elected representatives are responsible for implementing those policies. Participatory democracies rely on the citizens in setting the direction of the state and the operation of its political systems. While the two forms of government share similar ideals, participatory democracies tend to encourage a higher, more direct form of citizen participation than traditional representative democracies.
Liberal
Liberal democracy is loosely defined as a form of representative democracy that emphasizes the principles of classical liberalism—an ideology advocating the protection of individual civil liberties and economic freedom by limiting the power of the government. Liberal democracies employ a constitution, either statutorily codified, as in the United States or uncodified, as in the United Kingdom, to define the powers of the government, provide for a separation of those powers, and enshrine the social contract, liberal democracies may take the form of a constitutional republic, like the United States, or a constitutional monarchy, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Parliamentary
In a parliamentary democracy, the people directly elect representatives to a legislative parliament. Similar to the U.S. Congress, the parliament directly represents the people in making necessary laws and policy decisions for the country, in parliamentary democracies such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan, the head of government is a prime minister, who is first elected to parliament by the people, then elected prime minister by a vote of the parliament. However, the prime minister remains a member of the parliament and thus plays an active role in the legislative process of creating and passing laws. Parliamentary democracies are typically a feature of a constitutional monarch, a system of government in which the head of state is a queen or king whose power is limited by a constitution.
Constitutional
While the exact definition continues to be debated by political scientists, constitutional democracy is generally defined as a system of government based on popular sovereignty and a rule of law in which the structures, powers, and limits of government are established by a constitution. Constitutions are intended to restrict the power of the government, typically by separating those powers between the various branches of government, as in the United States’ constitution’s system of federalism. In a constitutional democracy, the constitution is considered to be the “supreme law of the land.”
Socialist
Democratic socialism is broadly defined as a system of government based on a socialist economy, in which most property and means of production are collective, rather than individual, and are controlled by a constitutionally established political hierarchy—the government. Social democracy embraces government regulation of business and industry as a means of furthering economic growth while preventing income inequality.socialest democracies are most often authoritarian states like China, Russia, and Iran,
Authoritarian Democracy
This is when only the elites are a part of the government process. The individuals of the state are allowed to vote for their chosen candidate, but “regular people” cannot enter the elections. Therefore, in the end, it is only the ruling elite that decides on the various interests of the state’s population. Modern-day Russia under Vladimir Putin is a classic example of this type of governance. Even Hong Kong generally falls under the same category.
Democracy remains the world’s most commonly practiced form of government.
In 2018, for example, a total of 96 out of 167 countries (57%) with populations of at least 500,000 were democracies of some type. Statistics show that the percentage of democracies among the world’s governments has been increasing since the mid-1970s, currently standing just short of its post-World War II high of 58% in 2016.
As you can see Democracy is “Not” under threat it is Freedom Liberty and Justice that are under threat by the Socialist attempting to institute a Dictatorship.
We The People Are Pissed Off!
JDK