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Yes, A Republic Can Be A Democracy
“A republic is a democracy…” — Malcolm Nance
The most frequent response online when people argue over whether the United States is a democracy goes like this: the U.S. is a republic, not a democracy.
This is a Jedi mind trick. Or a drunk trick. Or just plain drunk and dishonest.
The U.S. is a republic. And, of course, a republic can be democratic (or even a democracy).
It is not an either-or; it can be both and should be both. If the U.S. has plans to survive, what survives will likely become both, joined arm and arm, fused as one.
Those parts of the country which do not want democratic rule of some sort will reside in a dreadful place, I bet. Think North Korea, with some demagogue of some sort in charge of a country that is a cultural wasteland.
Yet, the U.S. is not a full democracy yet (it is more democratic in local and state elections though). I am on board with that and I am willing to keep working on this. The reason why it is has not reached that goal is its own fault.
I can agree it is a nation seeking to become a perfect union (at least by word). But, African Americans didn’t even have the right to vote until 1965 and those rights, in many states, are under attack. African Americans didn’t even…