Dangerous Misconception
Main Entry: dan•ger•ous
Pronunciation: ‘dAn-j&-r&s; ‘dAn-j&rs, -zhr&s
Function: adjective
1 : exposing to or involving danger
2 : able or likely to inflict injury or harm
Main Entry: mis•con•cep•tion
Pronunciation: (mskn-spshn)
Function: noun
1 : A mistaken thought, idea, or notion
2 : A misunderstanding
Logging into the Drudge Report this morning, I saw the following as one of the headlines: Gore: “American Democracy in grave danger.” In all blunt honesty, I say “Good.” Now, I’m sure there are some people out there right now going ‘Fascist!’ and ‘Imperialist!’ or maybe ‘Republican!’ To all of those, I say no–with the possible exception of the last of those, but only in the denotative sense, not the current connotative.
Just to get it out in the open and to hopefully open some eyes, the United States of America is not a Democracy. It was not the intention of the Founding Fathers for it to be a Democracy. In fact, many of them felt that Democracy was a dangerous thing and actively opposed it. The idea that this country was a Democracy did not come into regular usage until the early part of the Twentieth Century, and then it was likely (at least in my opinion) because politicians were wanting to pull one over on their Constituents and needed a way to make that happen. Therefore they turned to the populist point of view and sold the “common man” a bill of goods that the voice of the People trumped everything else. They sold them full and well on the idea of two wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner.
For those who haven’t connected the dots yet and are still wondering what exactly we are if not a Democracy, I’ll do my best to turn on the light of understanding. The United States of America is a Constitutional Republic. What this means is that there is a final law of the land that trumps everything else and no simple majority vote by the citizens of the country can change that final law. In addition, we have elected representatives who carry out our wishes (at least in theory) rather than everyone getting together and voting on everything.
In recent years, however, people have started buying more into the idea that we’re actually a Democracy, which is, as the title of this little bit of text states, a dangerous misconception. Politicians are more than willing to let their constituents believe that we’re in a Democracy and point to the other party in power as trying to take away their voice, because it’s more likely then that they won’t pay attention to what other things the politicians are doing or consider that in doing those things, their politicians are the ones stealing the “people’s” voice much more than the other politicians. After all, the “People’s” voice is their representatives that they send up Congress (or the State Assembly or the City Council) to represent them.
The Founding Fathers put forward the United States Constitution as the final law of the land (yes, I know the Articles of Confederation were first but, obviously, the Confederation idea didn’t work out at that time period). Within it are the means to make amendments to it, but it is by no means an easy process and there is certainly no mention of popular votes in it. The citizens of this country cannot simply get together, vote that X, Y, or Z should happen and make it happen. If it doesn’t pass muster against what’s in the Constitution, then it doesn’t stand. This is why we have a Supreme Court of the United States and the idea of Judicial Review (although, the standard of Judicial Review we currently have was due, in many ways, to the force of personality of John Marshall and his ability to force the Jefferson Administration to accept the ruling in Marbury vs Madison).
This is why, as a whole, why the popular vote during Presidential elections doesn’t mean a single thing. The “People†don’t elect the President of the United States—the Electoral College does. The Constitution leaves it to each state to determine how its representatives to the Electoral College are selected. The decision was simply made on a state by state basis to allow for popular selection of which way their Electors go. In recent years (especially after the 2000 Presidential Election), there have been calls to disband the Electoral College. However, people shouldn’t hold their breath on this because that would effectively rob citizens of smaller population states of their voice in presidential elections. Why would a Presidential Candidate care anything about voters in Cheyenne, Wyoming, or Anchorage, Alaska, when there is so much more to be gained with wooing voters in Los Angeles and New York?
People in this country have been sold a bill of goods that all that matters is the “will of the People.†This has been reinforced by the media and by politicians whose viewpoint changes depending on what the polls say. Instead of looking to the actual means at their disposal to actually make change, far too many people in this country believe they can simply get together a mass of people and make the fundamental laws of the country change. And all the while, politicians on both sides laugh and go on about their business rather than the business of their constituents.
Now, are there people out there who actually realize the power they do have and how to exercise it? Absolutely. And are there actually politicians out there who do what they should and actually represent the people who elected them rather than the special interests who gave them money? Few and far between, but they are out there.
In the end, people need to get over this dangerous misconception that we’re a Democracy and look at what actually needs to be done. They need to hold their representatives feet to the fire and make them actually follow the law of the land. And they need to start realizing that the purpose of government isn’t to give them things, but rather to protect them from their fellow citizens taking things from them—whether directly or via a proxy (even if that proxy is the government itself). Unfortunately, the seduction of the will of the many outweighing the rights of the few is too much for far too many in this country.
And I really wish I knew of a sure way to change that fact.