Democracy or Republic

[ouwen]

Maybe we should have the right to bear arms in an airplane to defend against all those terrorists

Right on. Nothing more fun than bullet holes in a pressurized airplane at 30,000 feet.

[gilleshk]

I guess sarcasm doesn't penetrate tin foil...

[Lifer]

I went to a normal boys' grammar school in South West London (this is in the mid to late 90s). It was selective, but not a public fee paying school or any expat school (do "expat schools" even exist in the UK?!).

Let me do a quick stroll down memory lane and just take my own class of 30 students as an example...

Two guys from India
One guy from Sri Lanka
One guy from South Korea (actually Korean)
One guy from Japan (stayed one year, actually Japanese)
One guy from Finland
Two guys from Ireland (including myself)
Two guys from China (one HK, one 'BBC')
One guy from Trinidad & Tobago
One guy from Mauritius
One guy from somewhere in Africa that I never found out
One guy from Israel
One guy from Greece
One guy from Turkey
One guy from Iran
One guy from Wales
One guy from the Philippines
Two twins from Spain

Pretty much every one else was 'British English' provided you don't follow their family trees back to somewhere else in Europe.

Note: Yes, most of them are British Nationals and born in Britain. But I'm kind of talking about where their parents came from, and in many cases they hold foreign passports also.

Is a grammar school normal? I doubt it. It doesn't matter because in any high school school in NYC - esp a grammar school equivalent - they would rightly laugh at your list of 'diversity'. You would find people from every country in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and South America. You would find Samoans, Chileans, Swiss, Russians, HK Chinese, Japanese, Nepalese, Singhalese, Georgians, Lithuaniuans, Australians, Fijians, Hawaians and everyone else including those from other states in the US. Even Canadians. And they would not all be US Nationals born in the US. They would often be foreign born emigres living with their foreign born parents in the US.

[Lifer]

I thought it would be an appropriate time to post a discussion on USA political system of government. Non-citizens of the US seem to confuse democracy with Republicans. Here is a little government lesson, and remember, there are two sides to every story.

We often hear the claim that our nation is a democracy. That wasn't the vision of the founders. They saw democracy as another form of tyranny. If we've become a democracy, I guarantee you that the founders would be deeply disappointed by our betrayal of their vision. The founders intended, and laid out the ground rules, for our nation to be a republic.

The word democracy appears nowhere in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution -- two most fundamental documents of our nation. Instead of a democracy, the Constitution's Article IV, Section 4, guarantees "to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government." Moreover, let's ask ourselves: Does our pledge of allegiance to the flag say to "the democracy for which it stands," or does it say to "the republic for which it stands"? Or do we sing "The Battle Hymn of the Democracy" or "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"?

So what's the difference between republican and democratic forms of government? John Adams captured the essence of the difference when he said, "You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe." Nothing in our Constitution suggests that government is a grantor of rights. Instead, government is a protector of rights.


Democracy now refers to the election process, which is not majority rule, as recent election of Bush proved, but a cloak over manipulation by the corporations and money Barron's to decide who is president, and in many cases, who governs at local levels.

An Electoral College choses the winner, and they alone can decide who to vote for. Popular vote is a farce in the USA.

It's semantics. You want to rely on the word 'republic'? Join this distinguished list:

DPRK
PRC
Republic of Congo
Slovak Republic
etc etc

Not so great is it?

The UK, for example, is not a republic, but it's a lot worse than the US. They jail people there for slander, which is laughable.

[Lifer]

With all due respect, people get SHOT in the UK for running with a backpack, from what I recall.

I think you're wrong there, They get attacked by the state for walking home with their hands in their pockets after asking for the right way home. Google 'Ian Tomlinson'. The official story from the 'Met' was that "protesters
attacked them while police fought to save him." The real story was that one of their 'professionals' attacked him from behind with a baton and shoved him to the ground, causing his death.

His crime? Walking in London with his hands in his pockets.

Here's what the po-po stated to the press: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/19/Evening_Standard_headline_about_Ian_Tomlinson%2C_A pril_2_2009.JPG

[hullexile]

It's semantics. You want to rely on the word 'republic'? Join this distinguished list:

DPRK
PRC
Republic of Congo
Slovak Republic
etc etc

Not so great is it?

The UK, for example, is not a republic, but it's a lot worse than the US. They jail people there for slander, which is laughable.

I think it is perfectly sensible to jail people for slander depending on its seriousness and how public it was. Can't actually remember any cases but I am sure you will remind me. Thinking about it isn't slander a civil offence so there would be no prison sentence?

[Lifer]

I think it is perfectly sensible to jail people for slander depending on its seriousness and how public it was. Can't actually remember any cases but I am sure you will remind me. Thinking about it isn't slander a civil offence so there would be no prison sentence?

I dont know about what type of offense they are Im just a simple man but I know in England they still jail people for slander - but let people who attack others and other people's property free - which seems so medieval to me. However, Thailand, Congo and Indonesia all do it too, so don't worry - your great democracy in England can join a pantheon of great countries there.

[ouwen]

Just Googled it. Weird system. I always thought the people in the state voted for the candidate they wanted and then the electoral college members were meant to vote the same way. Didn't realise you didn't actually vote for the presidential candidate but for some unknown who promises to vote for the person you wanted. Never understood why you couldn't just have a normal vote and cut out the college.

It could be the lack of communications 200 years ago. Electoral college members could travel to Washington, so that the entire population of voters didn't have to.

[ouwen]

I think you're wrong there, They get attacked by the state for walking home with their hands in their pockets after asking for the right way home. Google 'Ian Tomlinson'. The official story from the 'Met' was that "protesters
attacked them while police fought to save him." The real story was that one of their 'professionals' attacked him from behind with a baton and shoved him to the ground, causing his death.

His crime? Walking in London with his hands in his pockets.

Here's what the po-po stated to the press: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ril_2_2009.JPG

So that's why they don't carry guns. They have clandestine means of deadly force.

[ouwen]

Hey tin foil... go get your meds. You're resurrecting threads that are almost your age

I don't think that Geo Expat is that old.