To the Editor:

America is not a democracy.

As I have witnessed our elected representatives for a very long time (from local, state, and national public office), I’ve seen that few, if any, refer to our form of government as a republic and inherently refer to it as a democracy. Our federal form of government is not a democracy.

The United States Constitution, in Article IV, Section 4, states, “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a Republican form of government.” In the Pledge of Allegiance, we pledge allegiance to the Republic.

It is interesting to note that the word “democracy” is not found in the Bill of Rights or the Constitution.

One of our founding fathers James Madison said, “Democracy is the most vile form of government.”

John Adams, a founding father and president, said, “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself.”

Madison also said, “Pure 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.”

In a democracy, the majority rules. Let’s say if over 50 percent of the majority can be convinced to take your business, your home, or even your children, it will be so. The individual has no protection or rights against majority rule. In a democracy, the majority is not restrained. Democracy will always be reduced to mob rule, which will always lead to tyranny.

In a Republic, the government is limited by law, leaving the people alone. The rights of government are limited. The proper amount of government makes everyone freer. The founding fathers did all they could to ensure we do not have a democracy.

The Constitution was designed to govern the government and not the people or even the states. Each and every state was left to be the best it could be. The states could freely compete to be with the lowest taxation and controls, one where the people would like to raise their families and develop businesses and enjoy the fruits of their own labor.

As our elected representatives at all levels of our government refer to us as a democracy, we need to remind them that a democracy is the exact opposite to what we were given as a government.

The essence of freedom is the proper limitation of government.

William D. Wilday

Chairman

Constitution Party

of New York

Schenectady