***(Editor’s Note:  Garrett Jackson is a Columnist for “The Thirsty Quill.” A self-described Libertarian, Garrett is an educator from Lawton, Oklahoma, where he is also a writer and investigative reporter for his personal blog, known as “The Lawton Town Crier” (www.lawtontowncrier.com). ‘The Quill’ appreciates Mr. Jackson’s contribution, and we look forward to publishing more of his insightful pieces in the future.)***

“Questioning Our Definition Of Democracy”

By: Garrett Jackson, Columnist

A pure democracy is unwieldy, dangerous in its passion, and subject to mob rule thereby lending itself to instability and violence. Democracies 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

Do you honestly know what kind of government we have in the United States? It isn’t a trick question. This is the very question that I ask my students on the first day of class. I get various answers that leave me with a smile on my face. I smile not because my students have told me the correct answer, but because I come to the realization that if something is said often enough, people will start to believe it is true.

Watching today’s news, we often hear the five-second sound bite on how the United States is a “Democracy.” This sounds really good; it conveys the idea that the people rule the land. This is the kind of word that I can stand behind, because I like freedom.

This, however, is far from the truth. The United States is not a Democracy. In its 233 years of freedom, the United States has never been a Democracy, nor was it ever truly intended to be a Democracy. There is no mention of the word “Democracy” in any of our founding documents. The Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, all are written without mention of the word Democracy. Which begs me to ask, do the American people know what a Democracy really is?

The answer, sadly, is “no.” The lessons that we should have learned in our high school Civics classes in have not been retained. Furthermore, media outlets, many of whom have a political agenda of their own, fail to educate the population and continue to recycle words incorrectly. It seems that when we teach our students about our government, rarely do we ever get through to them. Either the students don’t care (which is most likely the reason), or either we have not found a way to make them care, which is plausible as well.

A Democracy is a form of government where all of the Citizens debate and vote on each and every rule of law. From the crimes that are committed by street thugs, to the height of a person’s grass in his yard, all are decided upon by everyone. Yes, Democracy in other words might best be described as “Mob Rule.” Some political scientists may refer to this as a “Direct Democracy.” I consider the phrasing of the term “Direct Democracy” to be like the phrase “A Little Bit Pregnant.”

This debate is not a simple matter of semantics. The subject of what kind of government we have is actually a very serious discussion for us, as Americans, to have about our way of self-rule. It is the use of the word democracy that can confuse the Citizenry and affect the political outcome in elections. If information is power, so too is the misinformation about our government and its internal workings. Are we doing ourselves any favors by not taking the time to learn why certain words were left out of, say our founding documents? Of course, you know those “uneducated” founding fathers, had no sense of word choice at all.

The United States is a Republic. This fact is grounded in the very words that our founding fathers wrote. Article Four, Section Four of the Constitution states: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” The Constitution of the United States, the highest law of our land undoubtedly implies that we have a Republican form of government. This does not mean that the Republican Party shall be in control (as much as some of us would like this to be the case), but rather, more importantly it means that a government, our government, will consist of elected representatives. These representatives are held accountable by their constituents, and it is they who should debate and vote on our laws.

Democracies are an extremely dangerous form of government for a number of reasons. Our founding fathers knew this. That is why it is not mentioned in any of our founding documents. Democracies offer no protection for the rights of a minority group. In theory, a government that uses a democracy in its truest sense could vote away the rights and property of a minority group…for any reason.

Second, it demands of the citizens certain responsibilities that are ambitious (if not impossible) to achieve. That is, it requires the careful study of all the facts, figures, and information on a law and resolutions. At a time when in my own community of Lawton less than 9% of eligible voters exercise their right to suffrage, I find it discouraging that the same number of people will be asked to vote on every mundane question that would come before this body of citizens. If we cannot get people to vote for elected officials, then how would we ever get them to vote on laws, much less study them? As an educator, I assign a grade to my students (however, that is often ineffective, even in getting some to turn in their homework.)

A Republic is a form of government, in which the people elect representatives to study, debate, and vote on issues and laws.

One might ask: Why is this such an important discussion?

Answer: I believe that some fail to use correct wording in news reports and in schools in order to sway the population into a particular set of views. They try to use wording that conveys an idea, however false, when people are in the voting booth.

I do not pretend to think, that in our country we do not have forms of democracy. For it is true that in many ways, democracy does exist. It however it does not exist at a national level as many people believes. Democracies in the United States tend to exist on a much smaller scale, such as our local communities, school boards, and churches. It is in this way it has the most substantial impact on the day-to-day lives of the American people. I concede that in my own state of Oklahoma, that we have a mixture of democracy, and republican form of government. We as a state vote on taxes directly, and for elected officials. Though the state government is large, it is a far cry from the National government in both size and scope.

I leave you with these points to ponder: When you watch the news, ask yourself, what is the education level of the person making the report? Are they a lawyer? Have they read our Constitution? Should an educated person, who is in a position to sway public opinion, be responsible for the misuse of words? A person can sue for defamation of character, but when we call our country “a Democracy,” do we not defame the true character of our country?

***(Editor’s Note:  Garrett Jackson is a Columnist for “The Thirsty Quill.” A self-described Libertarian, Garrett is an educator from Lawton, Oklahoma, where he is also a writer and investigative reporter for his personal blog, known as “The Lawton Town Crier” (www.lawtontowncrier.com). ‘The Quill’ appreciates Mr. Jackson’s contribution, and we look forward to publishing more of his insightful pieces in the future.)***