Democracy and the Republic

Our nation is a hybrid, and has been from the beginning. This is why we have always had, as we still do, Democrats and Republicans. Our United States of America was conceived in 1781, At that time, our leaders convened in Philadelphia to write a Constitution. From that time onward, even until now, we have been double-minded nation. The concepts upon which our Constitution was founded originated about 2700 years ago in ancient Greece. On that Mediterranean peninsula, a civilizing population elected their leaders by voting. They called it Democracy. But also during those ancient times, a philosopher named Plato wrote a document describing a way of governance called the Republic. Much has been written, over two millennia of time, about these foundational principles. But democracy and the republican idea had gotten buried in the ashes of history as Europe was governed and managed for two thousand years by kings and priests. That’s what today is called authoritarianism. Maybe we have outgrown that; maybe we have not. We’ll know soon enough how all plays out. Leap now to the 17th-century, in a period of time called the Enlightenment, and we find a recovery of those two ancient concepts of governance: Democracy and the Republic. When America was being settled and “civilized” by Europeans, 1500-1800 AD, these resurrected ideas were brought forth as a basis of constructing a government that would leave monarchy in the dust of American history, and replace it with a government of We the People.

In 1791, when our patriots and founders began writing our Constitution, our leaders—you’ve heard their names—Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock, George Washington et al— were struggling between these two ancient foundational concepts, Democratic and Republic. Surely you have noticed that, today, and (as I write this) tomorrow, we are still divided, peacefully, between Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats generally want all the people to be involved in all levels and phases of government. Republicans seem to prefer appointing leadership to people who are well-endowed and have a lot of assets to work with. Democrats seem to prefer keeping governance at the humblest levels of society, so that those who are rich and famous don’t take control of everything. Tomorrow, November 5, 2024—or more likely the day after that—we shall see who wins the latest round of Democrats v. Republicans. And I might as well disclose. . . I am a registered Republican who has already voted for a bunch of Democrats. Whatever happens, I say. . . God bless America, land that I love!