If You Can Keep It, Part 2: Republic, Responsibility, Reason

The citizen's part in keeping a free country

Every year as the Fourth of July rolls around, I get the same question in one form or another. What is the difference between a republic and a democracy, and does it really matter? For a long time, I thought somebody more qualified than me should answer this. Then my husband and I watched a film about the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the meeting where our system of government was debated and created, and it reminded me why the founders chose a republic as our form of government. My thoughts are below.

Republic

The main difference between a Republic and a Democracy comes down to how much say the people have in creating their own laws. The United States is best described as a republic, or a representative democracy -- more precisely, a constitutional republic with representative democracy. In a pure democracy, the people vote directly on almost everything, and whatever the majority says becomes law, even if it takes away rights from the minority. By contrast, in a republic, the majority does not get to vote away the basic rights of the minority, because those rights are guarded by a constitution that stands above the vote.

So, what are those basic rights? The founders called them natural rights, including rights such as life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. The idea behind them was radical for their day because these rights did not come from the state. They came from God. The men who wrote the Declaration said every person is endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. This was a fancy way of saying what God gives us that no king and no congress and no voting majority can take away.

If government gave us our rights, then government can take away our rights. The Declaration states clearly that government did not give us these rights. Government exists to GUARD our rights that were given by God, not by man.

During the late 1700s, when our country was being fought for and formed, these words resonated loudly, because the people had been living under a king who did not care about the rights of the people. WE THE PEOPLE decided we would not be ruled by a monarch, and we also created a system designed so that we would not be ruled solely by a 51% majority that could strip away the rights of the 49% on any given day.

Why do we not want a democracy where rule is granted by the majority? Let’s say one day that the majority decides no one is allowed to eat beans on a Monday. The vote takes place, the majority wins, and beans are outlawed on Mondays. My feelings as a bean lover would not count, because I came out on the losing side. But in a republic, a law like this runs smack into the Constitution, which keeps “groupthink” from voting away constitutionally protected rights and liberties. The pursuit of happiness covers a lot of ground, and on Mondays that might mean your favorite bowl of beans.

In a republic, we elect people who will represent us in government. These representatives serve as our voice. They write the laws that represent the will of their constituents, while remaining bound by constitutional limits that protect minority rights. But these laws must always first answer to the Constitution. Any law that tramples on constitutional protections can be challenged in the courts and thrown out. The circle of checks and balances was created to protect the rights of all of us, not just the majority.

Our governmental system, although inspired by God, is run by man. This means we will naturally make mistakes. We will sin against our neighbors and must make corrections along the way. The founders understood this, and they knew a human heart left to its own devices will seek more power than it should have. So, they built a government that refused power in the hands of one, as a monarchy did. And they created checks and balances to safeguard against our own will. No government has ever been perfect because no government has ever been run by perfect people. I thank God every day for his grace, and for the second chances He gives all of us.

Responsibility

When our son was little, I would take him out of school to go vote with me. I wanted him to understand that voting was a big thing, and getting to leave school WAS a big thing. He loved the entire experience. From seeing the candidate signs along the sidewalk, to visiting with neighbors and especially helping his dad or me mark the ballot. As his parents, we wanted him to understand early that the freedoms he was enjoying had been paid for by someone else, and as citizens of a republic we have an assignment, and part of that assignment is to show up and vote.

A republic only holds together if the people stay engaged. When we stay home, when we do not bother to vote, the power of the country settles into fewer hands. I have heard too many people say, “Oh, I don’t vote because I don’t get involved in politics.” I have news for you. There is no “opting out” of politics when you live under a government. You are part of the political world whether you like it or not. Not voting does not take anyone out of the equation. All it does is hand your share, your voice, over to someone else. There are more than three hundred and forty million of us, and the fewer people who show up to vote, the louder the voice becomes from those who do vote. And never forget, our politicians are human, too. They make mistakes. They are often swayed by the loudest voices, and they listen to the people who VOTE, not to those who stay home. 

Never let anyone tell you a single vote does not matter. Back in 2017, a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates came down to an exact tie, eleven thousand six hundred and eight votes on each side. State law settled it by drawing one of the two names out of a bowl, and the name that was pulled handed that party control of the entire chamber. One seat, decided by a slip of paper in a bowl, tipped the balance of an entire state legislature. And even when your candidate loses, your vote still counts, because the size of the margin affects how closely the legislative winner will listen to both sides going forward. A person who barely squeaks into office tends to keep both ears open. One who wins by a large margin can be more likely to ignore the losing side. 

This example in Virginia is just one of thousands of elections decided by very small margins. And do not assume the only races worth your time are the national ones. In most states, the legislature draws the congressional district lines, so one close race for a single state seat can tip control of the statehouse, and the party in power then draws the maps that decide who goes to Washington. Elections matter!

Reason

So why get involved in our political system by voting? Because it is our time to carry the baton. Because a republic that was handed to us is a republic we are meant to steward for the next generation. 

Plato is often credited with the idea that the people who refuse to take part in governing end up getting governed by people worse than themselves. And Pericles, as Thucydides recorded him, did not say that a man who ignores public life is just minding his own business. He said a man like that has no business there at all.

As people of faith, we are called to be knowledgeable about the world around us. Scripture says desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way (Proverbs 19:2). Desire is how we feel about something. Knowledge is whether it is true. And feeling something strongly, without facts to back it up, will always be a fool’s errand. 

Stay informed. Listen to facts, not opinions. Debate. Vote. 

When our son was about seven, he had soaked up so many of our dinner conversations about how the world works that he had begun to repeat them back as his own. As parents, we want this, but one day I realized something else was happening. We were running errands in the car and he read a political bumper sticker and announced that he agreed with it. I asked him why he agreed. He said, “I feel…” And then he said it again, and I realized quickly he was simply repeating back to me what his dad and I had taught him. Teaching your beliefs to your child is the first step in forming your family, but we must always follow up with the why. Why do we believe what we believe? Without knowing the “why,” a child will not grow into an adult who can stand up for what he believes when the world attacks. 

Driving in the car that day, I looked at him and said, “Caz, you know mommy loves you, but right now I do not care how you feel about that bumper sticker. I need facts. I need you to convince me you are right.” From that day on I made a habit of taking the other side of an argument to help him develop the critical thinking skills that become necessary in life. He needed to learn to research the facts, understand the why and then stand on his own two feet as he defended his beliefs.

The men who built this government knew exactly what they were handing future generations. They knew we would stumble and fall, but their options were a monarchy, where one ruler controls all; a pure democracy, where the majority can strip away the rights of the minority; or a republic, where a constitution guards the rights of everyone. 

They chose a constitutional republic as the system they believed best protected freedom, knowing full well they were putting the trust to sustain our country in the hands of future generations. 

When the Constitutional Convention concluded in 1787 and Benjamin Franklin was leaving Independence Hall in Philadelphia, a citizen named Elizabeth Powel called out and asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin responded, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.” 

Franklin knew a constitutional republic was fragile, and it could only survive if the citizens remained involved, had a moral compass, and were educated. 

The republic handed to us was a gift of freedom, but keeping our freedom now resides with us. 

Together with you,

Lisa Lou

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