Carte Blanche: America, Democracy or Republic?
Connor Scott McManus
"Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
- Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence)
America is a nation that enjoys many blessings. Geographically, topographically, economically, and historically. While it has had its fair share of hardships, bloodshed, division, and hypocrisy, it has a system of government that has endured for over two centuries. The question that is rarely raised, because the answer seems self-evident, is: what type of government does the nation have? Well, a democracy, of course. More than anything else, popular politicians and celebrities warn of threats to the nation's democracy. CNN had intros into the news that started with the words, “Democracy dies in darkness.” So the matter is settled, America is a democracy that is under threat of destruction by those who question the popular policies and narratives, and both parties agree. It should be no surprise that the Democratic Party champions it, though their policies, but not their presidential nomination process, go in direct opposition to this. It should, however, be a bit of a shock that members of the Republican Party talk of the nation's democracy, as their party, at least in name, had been founded in direct opposition. But how can this be? Has the time come for the Republican Party to change its name to something more democratic? Perhaps. Instead, it would be better to reach some form of consensus on what the nation's founders, the documents that govern the nation's laws, and popular opinion believe it should be.
"There never was a Democracy yet, that did not commit suicide."
- John Adams
Democracy, the rule of the many. The idea that each person gets one vote and the majority opinion decides the outcome. The founders feared this more than any other system of government. The tyranny of the majority. However, the Democratic Party has for decades built its platform on this very premise. The platform of the government taking care of the people and providing all that the citizens need and want. The belief that a small and powerful group of elites should not determine the destiny of the nation, nor should they keep the lion's share for themselves at the expense of the people who provide the riches they accumulate for personal use. To do away with royalty, dynasties, or inherited power. However, despite the platform, the party has given rise to political dynasties such as the Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Clintons, which have shaped policy and accumulated power for generations. The party that was once opposed to large corporations and billionaires now airs on their side more often than not. By using controlled party primaries and dark money, they ensure that only candidates approved by the party leadership receive the party nomination and funding for running for office. Look no further than the bid by Bernie Sanders for the party's nomination in 2015, or the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris in 2024. The party of the people often excludes them while championing a platform that seeks to ensure the government is in every facet of life, realigning money and resources to care for those same people, regardless of public opinion. Insider trading and term limits for Congress are things a majority of Americans want; the party of Democracy has more pressing issues, it would seem.
The Republican Party, the rule of the few. Believing that a few who have the right education, credentials, and best of intentions should be in charge. The tyranny of the minority. Their belief is that if everything were open to be voted on by the citizens, then surely their emotions could be whipped up to do terrible and destructive things to the country. Despite their call for limited government, nothing has hindered the Republican Party from doing its own brand of destructive and emotional governing. From endless wars to the Patriot Act and bloated government spending, they are often motivated to pass legislation that neither lives up to their party's platform nor limits the government's power. Senator Lindsey Graham was quick to vote for and reauthorize the Patriot Act. When he later discovered it was used to spy on him, the Senator was appalled. Not that the government was spying on an American citizen without a warrant, but that it occurred to him personally. Obviously, it shouldn’t be allowed to happen. His response was to have an amendment added to the federal budget that would financially compensate him and other members of Congress. The party as a whole nearly always votes in tandem with its ideological enemies in Congress to keep the government functioning as usual. It has, of late, been more prone to populism than the Democrats and has taken every chance that has appeared to increase the size and scope of the nation's surveillance state. The idea of enlightened rule that restrains the government has become alien to the party's members and seems to have become a great myth recited before cameras rather than campfires to inspire and strike fear in voters' hearts.
"Government even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
- Thomas Paine (Common Sense)
The truth of the matter is that ultimately everything lies with the American people. It is their votes that decide the course of the nation and the shape of its government. Decades of mismanagement and abuse at the hands of those they elected, for whatever reason that seemed valid or pertinent to them, have drained the nation of hope. However, hope is not some raging force that never fades, nor is it hard to find. On the contrary, it is a soldering spark always on the verge of being blown out. The truth is that not only can it never be extinguished so long as people hope for change and a better way of life, but that it can give way to a spark that can ignite a nation and its people for greater things than can be imagined all at once. The time has come for the nation to decide whether it will be a democracy or a republic, so that there can be a path forward. What exists now cannot be a democracy because the people's voice is so easily drowned out by party rhetoric and the desires of a select few. Neither can it be called a republic, because it does little to limit the government's powers and continues its march to encroach on the shrinking list of freedoms the people have left. If America is to be what the founders intended, a democratic republic that limits the government and keeps the balance between the many and the few, then it will take honest and continuous effort to bring this dream to reality. It can be done, but only by the people, for the people, and only so long as a common good is allowed to triumph over the greater good that has and continues to crush the nation. The choice is America’s, and what is the nation but the people and their dreams of a better future for themselves and their children, for generations to come.