To the surprise and dismay of those who missed out on
those Civics classes or slept through them, ours is NOT a “direct democracy”. When one political party warns that the other
party represents the “End of Democracy” they really mean the “End of Our
Democracy”. We may indeed be threatened
by the “End of Our Democracy” which would result in “End of Our Republic”. A “direct democracy” is a system where power
ultimately resides with the people (which we tend to equate with American
“democracy”). On the other hand, a
republic is a form of government where elected representatives govern under a
constitution that protects individual and minority rights (whether you agree
with them or not.) Under a majority
rule, direct democracy which is essentially “mob rule”, it is unlikely that
individual or minority rights would be given much consideration.
Thus, when we vote, we are voting to elect people to represent us according to a constitution, a constitution which may be and has been amended; but only 27 times. (Over 11000 amendments have been proposed and in a majority rule democracy it is quite likely that many of those would have been ratified…which should scare the hell out of anyone advocating such a system of governance.)
So, you may say, “Well we still vote to elect those who represent us. So ‘we the people’ have the power”.
“We the People” have the power to vote for those whom others
allow us to vote for. Make no mistake, at
the national and state level, political parties and the big money behind those political
parties select the candidates. Even the
candidates in certain local elections are bought and paid for to become candidates
so we can “elect” them.
This is the system we have. As designed, it’s the best one we civilized keepers of the planet have come up with thus far. But even our system is victimized by the human lust for power. Those with lots of money and power, want two things…more money and more power. And they have found that “influencing” the political process is a great way to get what they want. The game is rigged and the players like it that way. Even the losers tend to come away with more money and power than they would have had they never played the game.
So, where does this leave the voters? Those who take their “right to vote” sit in the upper deck and pick from who is available. Whether they pick the winners or the losers, most voters end up disappointed, regretful or in denial. That’s the primary reason politicians spend so much time and money trying to stay in office. They know they aren’t getting the job done. If they were in any other business or profession, they would fail very quickly simply based on their inability to deliver a quality product or service. But that’s not how it works in our system. And we wonder why so many Americans just don’t bother to vote.
