Republic v. Democracy

You will hear many of our nation’s leaders call us a Democracy these days, on both sides of the aisle. As a matter of fact, when you ask people by and large what we as a nation are (a Republic or a Democracy), they will answer “A Democracy.”  Fortunately, the answer can be found in our nation’s pledge of allegiance:

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.

If we were a Democracy, our pledge would go as follows:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of whatever the people want, and to the DEMOCRACY for which it FALLS, one nation under a DICTATORSHIP, with BONDAGE and INJUSTICE for whosoever believes we are a democracy.

As a matter of fact, our military training manuals used to contain the correct definitions of Democracy and Republic. The following comes from Training Manual No. 2000-25 published by the War Department, November 30, 1928.

DEMOCRACY:
•    A government of the masses.
•    Authority derived through mass meeting or any other form of "direct" expression.
•    Results in mobocracy.
•    Attitude toward property is communistic--negating property rights.
•    Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether is be based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences.
•    Results in demogogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy.

REPUBLIC:
•    Authority is derived through the election by the people of public officials best fitted to represent them.
•    Attitude toward law is the administration of justice in accord with fixed principles and established evidence, with a strict regard to consequences.
•    A greater number of citizens and extent of territory may be brought within its compass.
•    Avoids the dangerous extreme of either tyranny or mobocracy.
•    Results in statesmanship, liberty, reason, justice, contentment, and progress.
•    Is the "standard form" of government throughout the world.

The following are quotes from our founding fathers regarding a democracy:

Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.
- James Madison

Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.
- John Adams

The experience of all former ages had shown that of all human governments, democracy was the most unstable, fluctuating and short-lived.
- John Quincy Adams

In democracy . . . there are commonly tumults and disorders. . . . Therefore a pure democracy is generally a very bad government. It is often the most tyrannical government on earth.
- Noah Webster

It may generally be remarked that the more a government resembles a pure democracy the more they abound with disorder and confusion.
-    Zephaniah Swift, Author of America's First Legal Text