Democracy is the Enlightenment idea, that the authority of government derives from "the consent of the governed" -- and NOT from any "divine right" from "God."
Royalty had always asserted that God was source of legitimate authority.
But to the Enlightenment era founders -- to the extent they agreed there was a God -- viewed it as a God that bestowed the right of Liberty on everyone, not Authority on one.
And therefore, the only legitimate form of government, is one where those "endowed with Liberty" that God gave them, give up some of that liberty to be controlled (i.e. "governed") by a government that "the governed" (the people) create and control.
(See Heather Cox Richardson, Why Does Democracy Matter?)
Not a new idea. But a fragile one
Hence, this is how we get "civilized". Some organization is necessary to make and coordinate roads, water systems, sewers, libraries, schools, public transit, public safety....
And so we give up some liberty, pay taxes, and assessments, etc. for the convenience of collective action (e.g. making a town water system.)
But we can't let power get out of control.
We can't let those in power ignore the result of elections, for example.
The Enlightenment idea of Democracy, borrowed from the ancient Greeks, was the inspiration for the form of government we have in America today.
In a democracy, the power of the government exists and is granted power only by the consent of the people it governs.
The Constitution: The Blueprint for Our Democracy
The Constitution is the document that establishes and defines ("frames") the extent of government power, and establishes the framework of how it operates:
- (via elected legislators (legislatures, assemblies,town boards) who create codes and laws and statutes,
- courts (that make sure the law is followed and rule on ambiguous laws, and create case law ), and
- via elected executives (governor, president, mayor, etc, who is charged with carrying out the laws of the jurisdiction (i.e. "executing" the laws and policies that have been created by the legislature, and create agencies that make regulations )
But, the power of our government ultimately begins and ends at the ballot box
When the Constitution was passed, most states only allowed white male landowners to vote. Nobody else had the right to vote. Renters, workers who didn’t own land, could not vote.
Then the 15th amendment extended the vote to Black men after the civil war. Women still could not vote.
In the 1800’s the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution did not give women a right to vote by virtue of their citizenship.
There are still today those who argue that the Constitution doesn’t necessarily guarantee a right to vote to anyone.
You can deny the vote to someone for any reason but race or sex.
‘As long as those rules aren’t violated, governments can deny the right to vote for whatever reason they want, pretty much.
Indeed, in the this term of the Supreme Court, the Court will hear a case on whether State Legislatures have absolute unfettered right to to create arbitrary rules about who gets to vote and who doesn’t. Or whether there’s even a right to vote at all. Should be an interesting case.
That is Democracy
Whether it's representative democracy or direct democracy, it's all ultimately dependent on voting for its legitimacy.
And if that vote is not free and fair, then the legitimacy of the government itself is undermined.
But if an election is open and fair and certified and one side refuses to accept the results, then democracy is over.
Republicans are increasingly saying that they will not honor election results if they don’t win.
If that happens, and the public does not rebel, then democracy is over.
We may be perilously close to seeing an end to American democracy in our lifetimes if election denialism (the new religion of the Republican Party) becomes the norm.
Without voting, and honoring election results, there is no democracy
Since democracy is about consent of the governed, it's important that ALL of the governed who are affected by that government get a right to vote on those who govern them. If that vote is denied, democracy suffers and...
Voting is under attack today...
There are those who would like to suppress your right to vote so they can remain in power.
This site is dedicated to fighting anti-democratic forces that are threatening the enlightenment ideal that this nation was founded on.
Democracy is too important an idea to just let it be stolen from us by powerful forces who find oversight of them inconvenient.
This site is dedicated to keeping America free, and government transparent, accountable, and free of corruption.
And that can only happen if we end gerrymandering and stop voter suppression.
PRESERVE and EXERCISE your right to VOTE, and have your vote counted!!!
That starts with confirming that your voter registration is current, up to date, and accurate, so that your vote will be counted in the 2022 midterm elections and the elections going forward.