Democracy: What is it?

Democracy

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Many of us are praising the “Arab Spring” because it's believed that the yoke of totalitarianism is being thrown off in favor of “democracy”. We see democracy in a favorable light because we think that's our form of government. What is a democracy? It is from the Greek and means “rule by the people” and the word is synonymous with “majority rule”. There are two kinds of a democracy: a direct democracy and a representative one.
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The United States is a republic. We have a non-monarchical form of government, indeed a president. We don't cast our vote directly for president and we don't have majority rule. The “electoral college” are our elected delegates who vote for president in December following the popular vote. That method of electing a president is to protect against majority rule and to fulfill our role as a republic. It separates us from anarchy and monarchy!
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Furthermore, in a democracy a number of people vote directly on laws of the land. In a republic, we elect representatives who in turn vote for issues for the populace. We depend on them to compare the law with what's good for the constituents and vote accordingly. Our founders were wise because a direct democracy would be impractical given today's astounding population. Our representatives are or should be confined by the Constitution.
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Plato is the father of the “Republic” notion and wrote of it in Plato's Republic. His idea on “state” organization was developed after the Polyponesian Wars and where government abuses were the norm. Plato's argument was against the notions of pure democracy and monarchy. Although “Republic” originally meant “state” it later came to mean “state without a king”, hence we're a Republic. Some of our founding fathers propagated the notion that George Washington should be king, but he and others rejected that notion.
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From our “U.S. Constitution” “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion, and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence.”
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The document then goes on to describe the federal republican form of government and its system of representation protected by “checks and balances”: bicameral legislature, a president, and the court system. Neither branch is responsible for performing the work of the other branches, but are accountable for the process of legislation, approval and judgment. They each take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. The “Declaration of Independence” can be viewed as a stated goal and the Constitution it's implementation. Hence, we now have the second form of democracy, a representative democracy, and constitutionally we're a republic.
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If one examines 19^th century politics, Republicans were federally oriented and were in favor of a strong “republic”. Democrats of the 19^th century were oriented toward participation of the common people and were more “democracy” oriented. Today, the roles have actually reversed! Republicans believe in strong states rights and support all the people whereas the Democrat relies on a strong federal system and are composed of large and powerful special interest groups. Freedom is paramount to Republicans and control to the Democrats. Capitalism is important to Republicans and socialism to the Democrat Party. (Note that I do not use “Democratic Party”, but “Democrats” because they are now far removed from 'democratic” principles).
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Now what's this all got to do with the Bible? I want the casual “political observer” to understand the system ...to better educate so that each one of us can vote God's will. What is God's will? Was it a monarchy? Was it a democracy? Was it a republic? Was it socialism? Let's take a look.
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God intent is for his people NOT to be ruled by a king:
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1 Samuel (KJV) 8:5”And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. 7And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”
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The people (direct demand – democracy) spoke their majoritive piece. They demanded a king as the pagans had and in doing so, they rejected God! Who was their king before? God was king. Righteous judges ruled the people using God's laws. This is a theocracy. A benevolent theocracy is what God intended with God as king. The Muslims say they have this kind of system under Sharia Law. However, the key word is “benevolent” … a leader who represents what God truly commands. In reality Islam is a terrible Monarchical Theocracy in each of the separate Arab states. The “Arab Spring” is a revolution and is presently in anarchy! God never intended that each do as he wants. I guarantee that the “Arab Spring” will result in socialist, dictatorial, terroristic Islamic extremists. It's happened before and it will again. (See the history of Iran).
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Anarchy is a result of unbridled democracy, a weak republic or a corrupt monarchy. Whereas American Independence was fought with rules of civility, French Independence was a bloody coup d'état. Revolution thereafter has been with brutality and without laws of civil engagement. The emergence of corrupt leadership is the norm. Here are two examples of where leaders feared the people:
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1 Samuel (KJV) 15:24 “And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.”
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John (KJV) 19:6 “When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. 7The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. 8When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; “
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In both cases the leaders were fearing what they perceived as the majority … mob rule. Intimidation is not God's way! What we are seeing in New York in the last weeks is intimidation and mob influence. Likewise also, in Wisconsin earlier in the year. The appropriate way to seek change is through the ballot box or contacting your representative and presenting your case in a civil manner. Petitions are a great way of communication. Although leaders have used pickets on numerous occasions to further their cause, the goal may be achieved, but there are always residual effects or collateral damage.
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Socialism is sometimes atheistic and most of the time proponents of humanism and New Age type religion. Christians have no business espousing a type of ideology that blurs morality, has secular humanism as their God (if any God at all), and erodes freedom. The freedom to worship the true God is normally the freedom which erodes so gradually that we are acclimated and gradually accept it. (E.g., Western Europe and creeping socialism). We have seen that socialism and non-religiosity are proportional!
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Our form of government is firmly established. It has many flaws. Our founding fathers were flawed. However, if the intent of the original constitution was followed, with few exceptions, Americans would be a more prosperous happier people. Those who seek to destroy our system are proponents of systems which have always failed and always will. One reason America has succeeded has been because we were a Godly nation. Now we're not. We can pray and vote as God would have us. He doesn't want us to rebel. He tells us to recognize the authority of our government. It's hard, but we should. We'll have a new king someday and it may be soon!

P.S. You may question if I have read books I have quoted. Many times "Yes".  I have read Plato's Republic, for instance.