Does the ‘our democracy’ obsession threaten our Republic?
Longtime American Habits contributor John Hendrickson has an excellent piece at American at The American Spectator related to the obsession with “saving democracy” by much of the left.
Hendrickson writes:
The Founding Fathers outright rejected democracy. The Constitution created a republican form of government, that is, a republic and not a democracy. This was once clearly understood, but as a result of the decline in civic education and the repetitive use of the term “democracy,” it is an important principle that has been lost.
American Habits published an entire issue on the meaning of democracy. There’s no need to belabor the differences between a republic and a democracy, but it’s important to remember that democracy itself is not inherently sacred.
One of the key points I made in the editor’s notes on the democracy issue was to beware of becoming automatons for democracy. When democracy becomes only a procedural or partisan slogan, it risks becoming a vehicle for policies that actually weaken the culture of self-government. And why aren’t the so-called champions for democracy here calling out the serious censorship and crackdowns to free expression in Western European democracies? This is actually a great point that Vice President J.D. Vance made in a speech earlier this year at the Munich Security Conference. It’s a reminder that democracies can harbor authoritarian impulses, and that a healthy democracy depends on a strong, free people capable of governing themselves and holding their leaders accountable when their rights are violated.
I find the impulse to treat voting as a sort of national sacrament deeply troubling. Votes can elevate leaders, but only virtue sustains liberty. Without civic virtue, “democracy” becomes little more than a power contest, not a culture of self-government.
— Ray Nothstine
— The Federalism Beat