Column #444     March 1 , 2024Ancient Greek Temple

It’s a fact. Democracies are fatally flawed. Prime examples of that statement are very abundant today. Unfortunately, when it comes to civics the vast majority of modern-day Americans are as ignorant as a sack of hammers. The scholars in our universities are probably the dumbest of all. Therefore our coveted democracy has become a corrupt con game that’s guiding Americans into tyranny.

A democracy can work in an enterprise when everyone is on the same page. For instance, an effective board of directors needs every member to understand the primary goal and philosophy of the business. They must know what it takes to source raw materials, create finished goods, and the demographics of their primary customers. They must understand finance, accounting, personnel management, and their competitors. With that kind of managerial experience their votes are meaningful.

But if directors come in with agendas that differ from the core business, they may vote for destructive measures. One of the most famous examples of horrible business decisions was the hiring of Dylan Mulvaney to promote Bud Light. That classic advertising fiasco cost Anheuser-Busch a billion dollars in annual sales.

Our nation’s Founding Fathers had many misgivings about a democracy. Their main goal was to have a republic, not a democracy. The primary difference is that in a democracy the majority rules by voting in representatives who make the laws. In a Republic, elected representatives also make laws, but their laws are restricted by a Constitution that protects the rights of minorities.

The fine difference between a democracy and a republic can only stand the test of time through education and restrictions on the right to vote. Voters have to be mature, literate citizens with a stake in the country such as being a land owner. Basically the Founding Fathers believed that heads of households would vote for their family’s interest with less emotion than others in the family.

Education of the citizenry has always been of paramount importance for the survival of the nation. Ignorant citizens generally vote based on passion rather than on policies that reward hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Another source of concern was political parties. They were seen as divisive since men always have differences of opinion. In England they had caused considerable grief and open warfare in some cases. As differences are magnified, they often lead to violence.

How a nation manages its money is always critically important. Will the coinage be debased? Will the general welfare be a drain on the public’s monies? Should there be a national bank with the ability to create credit for the government? Who will be the supreme judges of the general welfare?

As the vote is cheapened and the electorate becomes more ignorant regarding the Constitution and Bill of Rights, mob rule will most certainly develop. With the cheapening of the vote, leaders are elected based on their empty promises of assistance that address unconstitutional endeavors. The principles that created the successes of the past are obliterated as history is ignored. As the government gains power over the people, minorities lose their rights as laws are ignored or new liberal laws are passed.

When the intelligence and moral fiber of a society decays to the point where people begin to fear for their lives and their property, the demands for a strong-armed leader usually follows.

Looking back at the Obama administration and its “figureheaded third term” led by the dementia-burdened Biden, everyone can plainly see how democracies can usher in self-serving tyrants.

It happens as the nation’s history is purged with inconvenient truths that are reenforced by the tearing down of statues commemorating the past. The money is debased. Citizens are literally taught to hate their country and its development. The literacy of the population is watered down by unlimited immigration and woefully inadequate schools. A government-sponsored school system that teaches un-American ways, moral depravity, and woke concepts of total lunacy is incredibly destructive. When laws are ignored, police budgets slashed, district attorneys let criminals go back on the streets immediately after being arrested lawlessness reigns. Tyranny is achieved when people are being told what goods to purchase and that even their thoughts are censored.

In the world of finance, even though our government is hopelessly in debt, Biden promises to forgive debts, contrary to a decision by the Supreme Court, and give away money to illegal immigrants. In addition he wants to spend billions more on foreign wars that have already been lost! The insanity is underscored by the fact that it cost $834.2 billion in new Federal debt during the third quarter to grow the US economy by $334.5 billion. That’s exactly $2.49 in debt for every $1.00 in GDP "growth."

Discrimination based on ability, race, sex, or religion is the law of the land. And in the name of democracy legal barriers are erected to stop the democratic participation of leaders from the apposing parties. These divisive policies ignore the basic principles of freedom upon which the country was founded and ironically the Democrats call that democracy.

Often, while living in fear, people seek out leaders who will rule with an iron hand. We are at that point today except, for some of us, there is a man running for office who wants to restore the basic freedom-based principles of the democratic republic that was cherished by our nation’s Founding Fathers. He wants to bring back respect for the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Instead of creating more laws and regulations, he wants to reduce them in number. He also wants to restore respect in our police forces and military and specifically the legal system in general.

Because our Federal government has courted the nation’s educational system with student loans and grants of all kinds, it has brought them (along with the teacher’s unions) under its influence. Local communities only think they control their schools, but the Federal government can pull funding from them at various levels anytime it wants. So, since we live in a nation of Deep State actors that want total control of all aspects of our lives, it’s no wonder that the students of America have a deficient education that leaves them wanting at so many levels.

Their greatest deficiencies are not in reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are in knowing our nation’s history and what made it great. In addition they are woefully lacking in world history and what’s been behind the rise and fall of nations. The United States is only the most recent case of a great nation that’s failing. There have been many others over the centuries with very similar stories. The Bible is full of stories of man’s great failings as are the writings of modern historians. But today’s younger generations hate our past and how it has compared with other great civilizations.

There is much more to this democracy story. The footnoted links below expand on our Founding Fathers’ concerns regarding future generations remembering what it takes to be great. Underscoring this problem is a recent experience. A Democrat recently told me how much he hated our Congressman Brian Mast. He then listed off about five bills Mast had voted against. Each bill was a unconstitutional pork barrel perk that the fellow obviously believed he or his friends deserved. Whether or not it was constitutional or practical in light of the country’s finances meant nothing to him.1 2 3 4 5 6 7

That was a prime example of how democracies can evolve into mob rule as citizens discover they can vote to spend the treasury on themselves. That also proves just how wise were our Founding Fathers. Not only did they know how to create a government that protects the freedoms of the minority, but they also predicted how the country would fail if the structure was discarded.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

For additional reading:

1. Strong Warnings from the Founders by Earl Taylor, Jr. from National Center for Constitutional Studies

2. The Founding Fathers Feared Political Factions Would Tear the Nation Apart by Sarah Pruitt from A&E History

3. Founding Fathers Quotes on Government, Democracy, and Placing Power in the People by
Alex Horsman from Ammo

4. America’s Founders Believed Civic Education and Historical Knowledge Would Prevent Tyranny—and Foster Democracy by Chris Calimlim from The Conversation US, Inc.

5. An Uneducated Populace Is A Grave Threat To Liberty by Jeanne Allen from Forbes

6. Bud Light No Longer One of America's 10 Most Popular Beer Brands from Newsweek

7. Republic vs. Democracy: What Is the Difference? by Robert Longley from ThoughtCo