Lisa Graas posted the video below on Facebook. I think I’ve had this up on CT before, but it provides a great brief primer on governmental systems. It explains the American form of government which is a republic not a democracy. Unfortunately many people don’t understand that.
I think what I like best about this particular video is how it challenges the commonly held position that on a political spectrum communism is on the left and fascism is on the right. He’s right that the terms are never clearly defined.
Connecting this with the Tea Party movement, some would say that it doesn’t matter what the polls say. Some would even challenge the Let Us Vote movement in Iowa for a marriage amendment. Not so fast. While yes we do not live in a “majority rules” system, the concept of a Republic is that you have representation. If your Representatives are not listening to you, well then Houston we have a problem. They’ve become an oligarchy writ large. With the Tea Party movement it is a reminder to Congress that all power (of government) is inherent in the people. In Iowa we do not want seven Supreme Court justices deciding for us the definition of marriage – which is why we wanted our legislators (our representatives) to act in order to allow us to vote on an amendment.
Your thoughts?