Do We Live In A True Democracy?

Do We Live In A True Democracy?
By Tommy Franks, Washington, DC

Most of the time, I consider myself a peaceful, fun loving guy. However, as of late, some very interesting things have developed which have caused me grave concern. It seems that in our “free” country and “home” of the brave, sometimes “special interest groups” are constantly attempting to impose their will upon the majority of Americans. As peacemakers, we find ourselves trying to appease them. Instead of the few adapting to the tradition and norms of the American majority, we are continuously bombarded by a “select” few who “know what’s best for us”.

As good natured Americans, we try to accommodate because we do not want to offend anyone. Therefore, we sometimes “give in” to special interest groups which may include culture, religion, nationality, or sexual preference. For example, some say that our love and patriotism for the FLAG (Old Glory) and the “Pledge Allegiance” to our FLAG offends them. Others say that traditional marriages (the monogamous type) offend them because they are too restrictive! Some even say that “good old fashioned hard work” offends them! Some are offended because of the war. War offends them! Most all Americans want our troops home as soon as possible. Hopefully, this will happen soon.
We as patriotic Americans want peace. We seek peace. We thrive on peace. We want better lives for ourselves and our children. Our forefathers came to this country to have a better life. They wanted to be truly free in a free society and democratic nation. However, lately, a few small segments of our nation apparently do not understand our American culture or ideology. For example, some have tried to change our national language (English) to some other language or have us speak two or three languages in order to accommodate them…because they simply do not want to learn to speak English. As hard working Americans, we have developed our culture, language, and democracy over the past 398 years. It seems to work wonderfully for the majority of Americans, especially for those who are patriotic.
Some have attacked the slogan on our money…In God We Trust. They say it is just too old fashioned. Even though these four words are part of our heritage, some say they are offended by it. Question? Are true values, principles, standards, morals, and our American heritage ever too old or out of date? I think not!Getting back to my original question: Do We Live In A True Democracy? First of all, what is a democracy? It is the political orientation of those who favor government…of the people…by the people…and for the people or by their elected representatives. A true democracy is a political system in which the supreme power lies in the body of its citizens who elect people to represent them. A democracy can also be defined as the numerical majority of an organized group who can make decisions binding on the whole group.

If this is true, then why are so many small select groups influencing the laws of the majority? Is this democracy? Winston Churchill once said, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." I believe democracy is by far the best form of government on this planet.

This brings me to my conclusion: Regardless of people’s opinions, complaints,
whining, and protests, the majority of Americans still believe that America is the best country on Planet Earth. We still believe in Mom, baseball, and apple pie. We still believe in values such as loyalty, respect, honor, service, integrity, courage, and hard work. These are vital to the success of our nation. We will survive as a democracy…as we have for the past 231 years!