PeakOil is You
have we ever discussed the difference...
First unread post • 7 posts
• Page 1 of 1
have we ever discussed the difference...
by SinisterBlueCat » Sun 27 May 2007, 01:44:28
...between a democracy and a republic before?
-
SinisterBlueCat - Tar Sands
- Posts: 885
- Joined: Tue 06 Sep 2005, 03:00:00
Re: have we ever discussed the difference...
by emersonbiggins » Sun 27 May 2007, 01:51:32
We haven't, but this sounds like it could be an interesting conversation.
I'll throw a few quotes out there for us to ponder:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')D]emocracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.
James Madison
I'll throw a few quotes out there for us to ponder:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')D]emocracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.
James Madison
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')[T]he experience of all former ages had shown that of all human governments, democracy was the most unstable, fluctuating and short-lived.
John Quincy Adams
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')In democracy . . . there are commonly tumults and disorders. . . . Therefore a pure democracy is generally a very bad government. It is often the most tyrannical government on earth.
Noah Webster
"It's called the American Dream because you'd have to be asleep to believe it."
George Carlin
George Carlin
-
emersonbiggins - Expert
- Posts: 5150
- Joined: Sun 10 Jul 2005, 03:00:00
- Location: Dallas
Re: have we ever discussed the difference...
by SinisterBlueCat » Sun 27 May 2007, 01:59:55
or how about these...
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"
~ Benjamin Franklin, leader of the American Revolution
"Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."
~ John Adams, 2nd President of the United States
"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine."
~ Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States
so emerson, we understand each other. tell me then...why is it i hear so often from our so called leaders things like, 'we want to secure democracy in iraq'
or
"as a result, our democracy is in danger of being hollowed out"
are we being conned, or are they just that stupid?
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"
~ Benjamin Franklin, leader of the American Revolution
"Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."
~ John Adams, 2nd President of the United States
"A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine."
~ Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States
so emerson, we understand each other. tell me then...why is it i hear so often from our so called leaders things like, 'we want to secure democracy in iraq'
or
"as a result, our democracy is in danger of being hollowed out"
are we being conned, or are they just that stupid?
-
SinisterBlueCat - Tar Sands
- Posts: 885
- Joined: Tue 06 Sep 2005, 03:00:00
Re: have we ever discussed the difference...
by emersonbiggins » Sun 27 May 2007, 02:13:02
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SinisterBlueCat', 's')o emerson, we understand each other. tell me then...why is it i hear so often from our so called leaders things like, 'we want to secure democracy in iraq'
or
"as a result, our democracy is in danger of being hollowed out"
are we being conned, or are they just that stupid?
or
"as a result, our democracy is in danger of being hollowed out"
are we being conned, or are they just that stupid?
Probably both. I certainly don't think modern America reflects the core values of the Republic envisioned by the Framers. I am trying to ascertain when we might have crossed the threshold from republic to democracy, and I think it might have been with the New Deal (or perhaps the upheld legality of zoning laws?
), and all the subsequent programs that it had influence upon. When the entitlement and 'for the children' mentality began to take root is when it all started to go wrong, IMHO.
FWIW, I don't think we are even a democracy today, but more like a kleptocratic corporatocracy, or something of the like. I certainly know the 'rights' of the individual aren't being represented, but then neither are the full desires of the collective.
But, back to your question, I think much of the negative connotation associated with 'democracy' has been stripped, especially since these major government programs have been implemented. It's popular to chant "power to the people," and I'll admit that even I have been drawn in by the mob mentality of it all, especially when there is a public enemy #1 that can be uniformly rallied against. Where it all comes apart, of course, is in peacetime, where one can tend to one's own lethargy and sloth, and appoint to themselves property and power that is not rightfully theirs.
"It's called the American Dream because you'd have to be asleep to believe it."
George Carlin
George Carlin
-
emersonbiggins - Expert
- Posts: 5150
- Joined: Sun 10 Jul 2005, 03:00:00
- Location: Dallas
