Misinformation Personified

On the surface, the fallacy that “America is a democracy” seems to be a case of “no big deal,” yet, due to its overall importance and its sad acceptance, the opposite is true.  In fact, isn’t this notion of it being a “ho hum” issue just a bit demeaning?  Since when does proper understanding and belief of one’s government become so trivial? Starting with the question “why,” how is it that government and academia lead the promoters of this falsehood?

Do not be fooled into thinking this is a mere trifle since it attacks the very core of our being, our unity and our American heritage.  And yes, its institutionalized style of promotion suggests an alternative or hidden agenda.

Democracy is defined and operates chiefly upon majority rule.  I mention this in conjunction with the recent cries that Clinton actually won the election based upon the “popular vote.”  If America was a democracy, Clinton would be President.  Yet somehow, this fact seems to be irrelevant since she garnered more votes and should be the winner.

Breaking it down into finer parts, America’s presidential election is composed of fifty separate State elections.  Within this Federalist system, each State records their votes through their number of electors which are determined from their representation numbers in Congress.

This system of separate State elections further discounts the myth that America is a democracy, yet each generation is taught this fallacy.  Driven by the losses of Gore and now Clinton, too many Americans believe that not awarding the Presidency to the one with the most votes is cheating.

So, with this recent Clinton example, what seems incidental or trifling now shares more emphasis.  And to think, we are pounded daily about the media’s “fake news” product while school curriculums which espouse this false democracy dynamic remain unscathed; but for only one reason, who knows any different?

The previous question of “why” needs clarification.  A review of our Forefathers opinions discards democracy as nonsensical and preposterous.  Quotes abound.  John Adams stated, “There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide” while in agreement, James Madison said, “Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention…been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.”  Fisher Ames concurred with, “A democracy is a volcano which conceals the fiery materials of its own destruction.”  And Noah Webster believed that “…a pure democracy is generally a very bad government.  It is often the most tyrannical government on earth.”

One last quote, from English statesman G.K. Chesterton tends to examine democracy’s underbelly with his words; “You can never have a revolution in order to establish a democracy.  You must have a democracy in order to have a revolution.”

So given this universal aversion, why would we now embrace such a knowing tragedy?  Or is tragedy the ultimate prize?

Consider how misguided are those who believe that Hillary Clinton was short changed, or the injustice of that Supreme Court finding verses Gore.  The common culprit leading them down this road of discontent and malice is this insidious democracy dogma.

Such democracy adherence is the residue from the lesson plans which our youthful minds absorb.  Accordingly, the adult voters who continue to grumble four months after the election are merely responding to a lifetime of misguided beliefs.  If only for peace of mind, isn’t it time for truth?

With our Founders denunciations, there shouldn’t be any doubt as to why our government is not based upon a democracy?  In a Republic, the citizenry elects representation who, being directly answerable to their constituents, enact the laws which govern our nation.  Therefore, the emotional input from democracy’s majority is offset through duly elected representatives, or if you like, agents of the people.

Despite all these earlier warnings, and in conjunction with the abundance of opportunities afforded from our present structure of governing, the question still remains; why?  Why this penchant, this universal chorus if not to lay the foundation for supporting change?

And with that word “change” a more sinister aura hovers.  America just barely survived eight years of a Presidential administration which had as its clarion call, fundamental change.  Or more precisely, from a President Elect announcing prior to Inauguration Day, “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

Enough Americans embraced this suicidal call for fundamental change that one had to wonder just what was so pressing or so terrible as to validate this foundational redoing?   In retrospect, that question remains worthy of  answering.  Equally in need, when Civics is taught honestly, is the “why” question of democracy.

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Jim Bowman is a 67 year old drafted Vietnam veteran, and a retired boiler maker with 31 years of service. He has been published in numerous newspapers in Florida and Philadelphia, is the author of This Roar of Ours, and the publisher of the Americanism of our Founders website. He is the proud father of a son and daughter, two grandsons and one granddaughter.

Jim Bowman

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