INASMUCH AS THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE expressed 18th-century republican sentiment “to resist and overthrow tyranny,” the Constitution was our founders’ attempt to prevent tyranny from arising in any new form of government they proposed. The Constitution of the United States created structures and systems designed to establish a government
IF YOU LISTEN TO OR READ THE DAILY NEWS, you might conclude there is an epistemological divide in our country similar to the one that led to the Civil War. ‘Liberal’ and ‘conservative,’ ‘democrat’ and ‘republican,’ ‘left’ and ‘right’ are linguistic indicators of this divide. More recently, the talking heads
OUR FOUNDING FATHERS REJECTED DEMOCRACY because they believed it would lead to the election of populist leaders and, by extension, mob rule. They implied that democracy was a less virulent form of anarchy, yet something to be avoided like the plague. In 1755, during a dispute between Benjamin Franklin, who
ALL MODERN GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES that are not authoritarian originated in the 17th– to 19th–century Enlightenment-era philosophy of liberalism. Within the classical tradition, a liberal is anyone who values liberty, and liberalism, collectively, advocates people’s freedom from authoritarian control, such as that of a monarch. It aligns with
IF HALF OR MORE OF THE ELECTORATE thinks their majority-elected leader is a tyrant, it follows that a majority of the people elected a tyrant. Whether the leader demonstrated tyrannical tendencies before being elected or became a tyrant is irrelevant. But if he showed signs of tyrannical behavior as
ARE WE A GROUP OF INDEPENDENT STATES established under and united by an agreement of co-terminous sovereignty existing at the intersection of federal and state authority? Are we a democracy or a republic? Can either exist under such an ordering of competing state and federal authority? Are we some
MANY OF US BEMOAN THE unprecedented political depredations we are experiencing today, from perceived abuses of power to the public, violent suppression of dissent. Parallels in history may not indicate repetition, but they are certainly instructional when examining their similarities. The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 In 1791, Treasury Secretary Alexander
Most people who knew me growing up would agree that I wore my feelings on my sleeve. My first experience with romantic vulnerability proved it. She was a freshman, and I was a senior in high school. Her older sister was one of my classmates; both were farmer’s daughters.
In my last missive, I explained how democratic governance is diminished because: 1) two Senators are elected for every state without regard to population, 2) the president is chosen by the Electoral College instead of the popular vote, and 3) districts for members of the House of Representatives are gerrymandered
FEB 22, 2026 In my upcoming book, American Democracy Through the Looking Glass, I ask if there is a hill upon which I would stand and defend commonly held principles of humanity. I answer that question here. Because our government continues a relentless campaign to silence the truths our bodies
On democracy and republicanism Previously, I explained how democracy is an association using a representative form of rule that rests on the foundational principle of equality. I also described how any democratic association that excludes young children due to their immaturity remains democratic because the exclusion is designed to protect
On democracy, republicanism, populism and the tyranny of the majority The most fundamental principle of democracy is majority rule as determined by a majority of the people voting in the affirmative for a candidate or issue. Gaining a majority of the popular vote using the rule of one-person-one-