We are NOT a Democracy!

I'm about to get on a rant this morning. I read a letter to the editor in today's Austin American-Statesman that said that the prospect of a Federal district judge overturning a city ordinance would be "undemocratic" because a majority of voters approved the ordinance.

It's a damned good thing that Federal judges are undemocratic. In fact, I've got news for the dirty unwashed masses. We do NOT live in a democracy. That's a good thing, too.

The last time I checked, we lived in a constitutional republic. What does that mean? What does democracy mean? First, a democracy literally means rule by the people. Well, that's noble, right? In the abstract sense, yes. However, that's a glorified view of mob rule. Do you want the same people who decide on American Idol to decide what rights we have? In other words, in a pure democracy, 50% + 1 of the voting public can decide that the national anthem should become P. Diddy's latest hit. More insidiously, a majority could vote for discrimination against any minority they didn't like. Think it can't happen? Ask any African-American who lived through segregation. The majority of the population in the South voted for politicians who supported segregation. Crass appeals to ignorance, religion, and prejudice work in a democracy. After all, if someone's a minority, they're not "like us." Hence we end up with slavery, Jim Crow, bans on abortion, and restrictions on who can be in a relationship.

Ok, so what is a constitutional republic? A republic means that we are governed by elected officials. A constitution means that we have a supreme law governing how the government is organized and describing what powers the government does have. More importantly, our constitution describes powers that the government does NOT have. For example, the Bill of Rights serves the purpose of LIMITING government's powers.

In other words, it's through undemocractic judges that we ensure we don't slide down a slippery slope into a tyranny of mob rule. Thank goodness that the United States is not a democracy.