Hi Mike,

I'm not sure anyone else has responded on this so please forgive me if this is redundant.

There is a clear distinction between a Republic and a Democracy and the U.S. is clearly a Republic. It may have democratic principles, but that is not the same thing.

In a Republic minority individual rights are the highest priority overwriding all else. All citizens have natural rights as opposed to just civil rights. Individuals are protected by the Bill of Rights from the majority. For instance, on a jury (a very good example) one single vote can prevent the majority vote. This was designed to prevent government from depriving any citizen of his/her individual rights. If we were a democracy then the majority would always have prescendence and there would be no such thing as a significant minority. A democracy is a government of the masses where authority is derived through a mass meeting. Democracy is the direct rule of the people and has been failed throughout history. I was taught in history that our forefathers defined a representative republic and not a democracy for that very reason. Our forefathers were terrified of the effects of democracy and autocracy. It amazes me that the popular opinion today leans more towards socialism and democracy than as in our history - the individual and his rights.