America is not really a democracy

Here’s one reason why:

Today, people frequently call the United States a democracy, stating that our government is “by the people and for the people.� But the United States is a republic, not a democracy. Elected officials govern the states and the country. The real and full name of our form of government is “constitutional federated republic.� “Constitutional� means that the government is based on a written document of laws, “federated� refers to the existence of both state governments and a central government (at Washington), and “republic� means that government officials are elected by the people.

The U.S. is governed, not by the people, nor even by elected officials, but ultimately by the law, the Constitution itself. Without knowledge of the Constitution, we might disobey it and potentially hurt our country. Through belief that the United States is a democracy, we are actually hurting American society.

Many Americans believe in majority rule, the idea that whatever the majority of the people decide to be right, is right. Here are some of the results of that belief: During World War I, the public was soundly in favor of the war. Anyone who was against the war risked public scorn, attack and maybe even lynching. The same type of thing happened during World War II and the Vietnam War (minus threats of lynching, as far as I know). How about that?

Before the civil rights movement in the 1960s, African-Americans often did not vote. The majority did not like the idea of African-Americans voting, even though the Constitution gave them the right to vote. What might the majority have done if an African-American voted?

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the U.S. government imposed an income tax to fund its increasing number of programs. The government did this even though income taxes were unconstitutional until 1913, when the 16th Amendment allowed income taxes. And the income tax was graduated, meaning that people with larger incomes had to pay a greater percentage of their incomes. But Americans already know about that; this is income tax season.

But do they know that graduated taxes are unconstitutional? Read the Constitution, and you will see that it does not give the government the power to levy graduated taxes. Even though the Constitution does not explicitly deny the government this power, since the power was not given, it does not truly exist. And we cannot assume or imply that government can graduate taxes, for that power discriminates against people with larger incomes. Mr. Burns would be very angry.

So why do we have a graduated income tax? Those early 20th century government programs depended on the redistribution of wealth (taking from the rich and giving to the poor; the Constitution does not give government the power to do that, either). The programs were very popular. No one had better challenge them.

United majorities have the potential to disobey the Constitution and can basically govern in its stead. Today, very few majority positions exist, for Americans are divided on many issues. But even in the 1830s, Alexis de Toqueville noted in his book, “Democracy in America,� that the tyranny of the majority was one of the main problems facing American society. De Tocqueville was wise to see that, and we would be wise to listen to him. Fortunately, the Constitution is against majority rule. But unfortunately, most Americans know more about “The Simpsons� than they do about the Constitution, and the majority in majority rule doesn’t really care what the Constitution says.

Jake Mokris is a homeschooled student and member of the Teen Takeover staff.