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To the Editor,
There they go again with their “the USA is not a democracy” nonsense. The Tea Party and 9/12 groups insist that we are a constitutional republic, but not a democracy.
A republic is defined as any government that is not a monarchy. We have no king or queen; hence ours must be a republic — like many others.
China is a communist republic; Iran is an Islamic republic. What kind of “republic” are we? We have a constitution, so it’s fair to say, yes, we’re a constitutional republic. (China and Iran also have constitutions…)
Does that preclude our nation being a democracy? No. If you read our Constitution, you will see that it sets out the procedures that allow every adult American citizen to vote for their representatives, from City Council to Congress to President. Thus, we also are a representative democracy. To say that we are not is absurd.
Ann Harroun
Loveland, Colorado
Dear Ann,
We are a Republic not a Democracy. You shortened the definition of Republic to meet your own biased point of view. Here is a definition which should clearly explain things to you:
re·pub·lic (r-pblk) KEY
NOUN:
A political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in modern times is usually a president. A nation that has such a political order. A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them. A nation that has such a political order. An autonomous or partially autonomous political and territorial unit belonging to a sovereign federation. A group of people working as equals in the same sphere or field: the republic of letters.
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ETYMOLOGY:
French république, from Old French, from Latin rspblica : rs, thing; see r- in Indo-European roots + pblica, feminine of pblicus, of the people ; see public
Where you confuse the issue is merely wordsmithing and your biased point of view. We could also call ourselves a "union" according to your logic. remember these words?
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.