Democracy

For any readers out there who might still hold the idea that America is a democracy, I urge you to defenestrate (how about that, Prof. Wood?) that idea and reconsider.

Democracy comes from the joining of two words from ancient Greece, demos and –kratia.

If you choose not to follow the links, demos refers to the general public or the common people. In ancient times this was also considered the general “mob.” Meanwhile, -kratia refers to a form of government. Combined, democracy now means rule by the people, and while this may be thought of as a good thing, it is ultimately wrong.

Evidence of democracy being a wrong thing lies simply in the ideas that the forefathers of history held. For example, the majority, in the past, held that women could not vote, blacks were to be slaves, and the Earth was flat. While entertaining the idea that the Earth is flat apparently does not hurt nor impede anyone, people were considered heretics by the Church if they believed otherwise and were sentenced to death unless they recanted their position.

The authors of the Constitution attempted to answer the problems of democracy when they wrote the Constitution by introducing representatives and judges. Representatives do all the voting to ensure that those who are ignorant or uninformed do not vote. The judges act to ensure that anything that is voted upon or placed into law is not infringing on a minority of people. It is the job of both the representative and the judge to ensure that a misinformed majority is restrained and unable to inflict tyranny on a minority of people.