NationStates Jolt Archive

Hello America. Newsflash: We aren't now and never have been a democracy!
I have no idea why most people believe this urban myth.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Do you know the difference? If not, you owe it to yourself (and everyone else who has to read/hear your misinformed conclusions on our government) to be informed as an American citizen:

http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/repvsdem.htm

You might also want to do yourself the favor of learning the difference between People's Rights and Citizen's Rights.

http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/pvcright.htm

This should clarify some of the misunderstandings you may have regarding your constitutionally protected liberties and birthrights.

(This document and subsequent revisions is given free to all elected and past senators, congressmen, and vice presidents, delegates, and resident commissioners upon timely request to the Government Printing Office.)

Hello America. Newsflash: We aren't now and never have been a democracy!
I have no idea why most people believe this urban myth.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Do you know the difference? If not, you owe it to yourself (and everyone else who has to read/hear your misinformed conclusions on our government) to be informed as an American citizen:

http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/repvsdem.htm

Fixed it for you ;)

Well then you obviously need to rethink your definition of Democracy.

And if you do not like America, you are more than welcome to move to Canada, or Russia, or China...or anywhere else where you get great civil rights...like the Middle east...

While we're clearing up myths;

Quicksand doesn't suck you down to your doom like in the movies. In fact, quicksand is denser than water and is easier to float in. If you stumble into quicksand, drop anything heavy and if you haven't sunk to deep, try to throw yourself flat.

If you are in too deep to do that, the important thing is not to panic. Rapid movements of your legs cause vacuum-like suction that will pull you deeper. YOu will reach equilibrium at about chest-deep. The only way you will sink deeper than this is if you are weighed down or if you struggle rapidly. Rapid struggle can cause enough suction to pull you under. But make no mistake, YOU are generating the suction. Lean back as far as you can. You want to increase the amount of you that is in contact with the surface of the quicksand as much as possible, so spread your arms out on the surface and lean back. Then slowly and with very deliberate motion, tug one leg upward and outward. Work it as free as possible as slowly as you can. Then the other leg. After doing this a couple times, you will by lying on the surface of the quicksand. Now either roll over and over until you are on dry land or 'swim' out using very slow, deliberate strokes.

Some sticky kinds of mud can actually be more dangerous than quicksand because they can form such tight suctions around your bodies that escape without help is impossible. Never panic. Simply keep calling out for help until it arrives. Never stop trying to free yourself using the above methods.

Ain't science grand? :)

Well then you obviously need to rethink your definition of Democracy.

And if you do not like America, you are more than welcome to move to Canada, or Russia, or China...or anywhere else where you get great civil rights...like the Middle east...

Wow, that's some strong unamerican bullshit.

I guess it's just wishful thinking that American can be the "land of the free," not the "land of the like it or get out"

Hello America. Newsflash: We aren't now and never have been a democracy!
I have no idea why most people believe this urban myth.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Do you know the difference? If not, you owe it to yourself (and everyone else who has to read/hear your misinformed conclusions on our government) to be informed as an American citizen:

http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/repvsdem.htm

I am really glad you know the difference between the classical definitions of a democracy and a republic. Really. As a social studies teacher I am pleased you paid attention in government class.

However, the definition of democracy is somewhat different today than it was when the ancient Greeks developed the concept. Today, when referring to the type of democracy you are discussing we use the term "direct democracy." This is when people vote directly for the laws that govern them. And even in this narrow sense of the idea the U.S. does have some elements of direct democracy, such as the initiative, referendum, and recall.

The more common type of democracy today is representative democracy (republican government), where people vote for leaders who make the laws in their name. This remains "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" and is still considered a democracy in the modern sense of the word.

This representative democracy is based upon the concept of majority rule and minority rights.

Hang in there. I like to see people discussing the workings of our democratic government.

I am really glad you know the difference between the classical definitions of a democracy and a republic. Really. As a social studies teacher I am pleased you paid attention in government class.

However, the definition of democracy is somewhat different today than it was when the ancient Greeks developed the concept. Today, when referring to the type of democracy you are discussing we use the term "direct democracy." This is when people vote directly for the laws that govern them. And even in this narrow sense of the idea the U.S. does have some elements of direct democracy, such as the initiative, referendum, and recall.

The more common type of democracy today is representative democracy (republican government), where people vote for leaders who make the laws in their name. This is remains "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" and is still considered a democracy in the modern sense of the word.

This representative democracy is based upon the concept of majority rule and minority rights.

Hang in there. I like to see people discussing the workings of our democratic government.

Do you know any physical sciences teachers that can check my quicksand information? :D

Do you know any physical sciences teachers that can check my quicksand information? :D

Not on-line, but I saw the Mythbusters t.v. show in which they demonstrated that a person trapped in quickstand won't sink.

UnAmerican? That's hillarious. Admit you had no intention of reading the article and still don't understand the difference between a Republic and a Democracy.
I am proud to be an American, and seek to understand our form of government.
That's every American's responsibility if they're going to claim to be a good one!
Do you know the Pledge of allegiance?
Can you show me anywhere in our constitution that our goverment ever claimed to be a democracy?
No. You can't because we are a Republic. What's srong with that?
Nothing when you understand the fundamental difference.
A democracy would technically be very unAmerican.
Do yourself a favor and read the article, then reread (if you ever have) the American constitution.
Do you find the word Democracy anywhere in the document, or the word Republic?
Thought so. YOU are unAmerican! Not me.

UnAmerican? That's hillarious. Admit you had no intention of reading the article and still don't understand the difference between a Republic and a Democracy.
I am proud to be an American, and seek to understand our form of government.
That's every American's responsibility if they're going to claim to be a good one!
Do you know the Pledge of allegiance?
Can you show me anywhere in our constitution that our goverment ever claimed to be a democracy?
No. You can't because we are a Republic. What's srong with that?
Nothing when you understand the fundamental difference.
A democracy would technically be very unAmerican.
Do yourself a favor and read the article, then reread (if you ever have) the American constitution.
Do you find the word Democracy anywhere in the document, or the word Republic?
Thought so. YOU are unAmerican! Not me.

Quick, what kind of republic are we?

What Is Democracy?

This is from the United States Department of State. I figure they know whether or not we are a democracy.

DEFINING DEMOCRACY
Government of the People

Democracy may be a word familiar to most, but it is a concept still misunderstood and misused in a time when totalitarian regimes and military dictatorships alike have attempted to claim popular support by pinning democratic labels upon themselves...

Rest of the article at:

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/whatsdem/whatdm2.htm

The more common type of democracy today is representative democracy (republican government), where people vote for leaders who make the laws in their name. This is remains "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" and is still considered a democracy in the modern sense of the word.

This representative democracy is based upon the concept of majority rule and minority rights.

Hang in there. I like to see people discussing the workings of our democratic government.
Thanks for posting this. This is the type of post that makes NationStates a great board. I am trying my best to understand our government, as I believe that's the duty of any responsible voter in our nation.

Help me here: So what's the differnce between a Republic and a Republican government? Is it just the introduction of representation?

Democracy is an amalgamation of Greek words, demos, meaning "the people" and cracy meaning "power, or rule" hence the U.S - a nation whose government operates on the rule of the people IS a democracy.

You can argue until you're blue in the face about the U.S "Republic", (course it only called itself that in opposition to the British monarchy) the bottom line is that if you define democracy in almost any way, the U.S will fall into that definition.

Hello America. Newsflash: We aren't now and never have been a democracy!
I have no idea why most people believe this urban myth.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Do you know the difference? If not, you owe it to yourself (and everyone else who has to read/hear your misinformed conclusions on our government) to be informed as an American citizen:

http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/repvsdem.htm

Ok just for hahas: I'm going to guess that you are somewhere between the ages of 10-14 ?

I am assuming so for two reasons: one, you're on the whole 'Pledge of Allegiance' bit - believe me I've gone through it myself.

And two, you act as if you know it all - which also I've gone through myself and to this day I am still going through (lol - arrogance tends to be my Achilles heel.)

Anyways, the American system - which is actually a system we adopted from the Romans - is a Representative Democracy, and it is much more effective than you may think.

You see, with a nation as large as this one it would be difficult to near impossible for the people to govern directly (a Direct Democracy) - so what we did was we broke the nation up into states, we created a national House of Representatives, a national Senate, governors for each state - a senate on each state level, a supreme court, etc.

We elect the senators, the governors, the representatives for disctricts, the president who then nominates supreme court justices which then must be approved by the Senate, etc.

It's a Representative Democracy and it works because we cannot vote on each issue every time - not for a nation this large. It wouldn't work.

So we elect representatives to do it for us on the local and federal level - we vote for the man or woman who we think is right for the job and shares our views.

If you do not like this system - if you do not think it is efficient - if you are going through some rebellious stage or something of the sort, that's fine. I'm not going to give you a, "like it or leave it" speech although I can understand that sentiment because quite frankly it annoys me when others cannot appreciate this country despite it's many flaws.

Never take this country for granted, just remember that. It isn't perfect - no not by any means. But we have something great here - we really do.

You aren't being dragged through the dirt by your balls (literally) in Guatemala. You aren't sifting through trash in Africa looking for a meal. You aren't having your hands cut off for stealing in Iraq, Afghanistan, UAE, etc. You aren't living in a war-torn nation like Sierra Leone.

You can go on, and on, and on. We have it so good here in America it upsets me just thinking about how we take for granted all of our rights when in other countries the very concept of liberty, freedom, rights - is simply unknown.

So with that being said, if you feel there is something wrong with America - and you have a better idea then by all means go out there and try to make a difference. But do not ever - ever - take the rights you DO have for granted.

UnAmerican? That's hillarious. Admit you had no intention of reading the article and still don't understand the difference between a Republic and a Democracy.
I am proud to be an American, and seek to understand our form of government.
That's every American's responsibility if they're going to claim to be a good one!
Do you know the Pledge of allegiance?
Can you show me anywhere in our constitution that our goverment ever claimed to be a democracy?
No. You can't because we are a Republic. What's srong with that?
Nothing when you understand the fundamental difference.
A democracy would technically be very unAmerican.
Do yourself a favor and read the article, then reread (if you ever have) the American constitution.
Do you find the word Democracy anywhere in the document, or the word Republic?
Thought so. YOU are unAmerican! Not me.

Wow, you totally didn't understand me.

The concept of "if you don't like it MOVE" is unamerica.

I couldn't care less about what else you posted.

Yeah, I'd have to agree.

The, "like it or leave" attitude has never been American. Had it been - we'd probably be part of the U.K. right now. Heh.