In a Democracy you can not have Snob rule, meaning, the Ruling Elite or Monarch can not go against the majority (the people). The majority overrules the Snob.
However, in a Democracy you can have Mob rule, and the Mob can be just as tyrannical, if not worse than a Snob. The Founding Fathers of the United States warned against pure Democracy for this reason.
In a Republic, you can not have either Snob rule or Mob rule. In a Republic there is a Constitution, and in U.S. law a "bill of rights", guaranteeing individuals certain unalienable rights that can not be be taken away by the Snob or the Mob. A Democracy has no such protection against mob rule. The Founders made sure that the word "Democracy" was not in the Constitution, nor is it in any of the Constitutions of all 50 states.
This is why the Republicans fought to free the slaves from the Democratic south in the U.S. civil war. The Democrats wanted to keep their slavery economy because they thought it was good for the Mob. They didn't care about individual rights.
This is why all the first Black Senators, Congressmen, Governors, and other Government officials were all Republicans. The Republicans inspired U.S. blacks to be strong individuals and leaders. However, later, the Democrats inspired blacks to be dependent on the welfare state and take on the role of victims. In the early 1900's blacks switched and became Democrats.
This is why so many Conservatives (whatever creed or race) are Republican, because they share the same core values of individualism and personal responsibility.
It all boils down to a simple rallying cry. For the Democrats it is "Power to the People!" and for true Republicans, Libertarians and Indicrats it is "Power to the Individual!"
Below is an excerpt from "Overview of America" produced by The John Birch Society. It is narrated by John McManus. The American Form of Government - Plus music video, Yankee Doodle (Tea Party mix) at the end, not from JBS. And below the video are additional notes about Democracy versus a Republic.
In a pure democracy 51% beats 49%. Socrates was executed by a democracy. Though he harmed no one, the majority found him intolerable. A Republic could have saved Socrates but it is important to note one major concern about Republics which is the following...
Although it is true that a Republic is the best way to secure individual rights, not all Republics WILL secure individual rights. Some Republics have constitutions that are tyrannical and other Republics simply don't follow their constitutions or are fake Republics.
Iran is a good example of a pseudo republic. Article 23 of the Iranian constitution states- "The investigation of individual's beliefs is forbidden, and no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief." Who in their right mind believes for one second the Iranian government is upholding that tenant? This is a country that will execute you for apostasy. This is a country where the president says there are no gay people in Iran. This is a country that uses snipers on peaceful demonstrators. These are religious zealots. How can religious zealots uphold a constitution that protect basic individual rights? It's not possible. This is why a Republic cannot be non-secular. A republic that protects individual rights can only function under secularity.
East Germany during the cold war called itself a Republic and so does North Korea. In both cases, individual rights were and are virtually non-existent. The only point of having a constitution is to protect individual rights. A nation can call itself whatever it wants, but a good Republic is measured by the present rights of its individual citizens.
Also, there is a term bandied about which is a "Constitutional Democracy". This term is either one of two things. It is either an oxymoron, because the mere fact that you have a constitution negates the power of a real democracy, or it is simply another way of saying "a Republic". People that don't like the word "Republic" may use the term "Constitutional Democracy" as a substitute, but this is just political semantics.
~Dhruva Aliman
