“A republic, if you can keep it.”
~ Benjamin Franklin
The difference between a democracy and a republic is not merely a
question of semantics but there is a fundamental difference. The
word “republic” comes from the Latin res publica — which means
simply “the public thing(s),” or more simply “the law(s).”
“Democracy,” on the other hand, is derived from the Greek words
demos and kratein, which translates to “the people to rule.”
Democracy, therefore, has always been synonymous with majority
rule.
The Founding Fathers supported the view that (in the words of the
Declaration of Independence) “Men … are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
They recognized that such rights should not be violated by an
unrestrained majority any more than they should be violated by an
unrestrained king or monarch. In fact, they recognized that majority
rule would quickly degenerate into mobocracy and then into
tyranny.
The Founding Fathers studied the history of both the Greek
democracies and the Roman republic. They had a clear
understanding of the relative freedom and stability that had
characterized the latter (republic), and of the strife and turmoil,
quickly followed by despotism, that had characterized the former
(democracy).In drafting the Constitution, The Founding Fathers created a
government of law and not of men, a republic and not a
democracy.
"We are now forming a Republican form of government. Real
liberty is not found in the extremes of democracy, but in moderate
governments. If we incline too much to democracy we shall soon
shoot into a monarchy, or some other form of a dictatorship." -
~Alexander Hamilton
We MUST change the narrative!
The democrats are famous for saying that we are in danger of losing
our democracy if we don’t adhere to their policies - However, we
contend
WE ARE A CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC - NOT A DEMOCRACY!