3 ms·

Sadly USA seized to be a democracy quite some time ago

by 4gotunameagain 6y ago

DiffEq 6y ago
The USA was never a democracy and was never meant to be a democracy. The U.S. is a Constitutional Republic.
- Retric 6y ago
  The existence of DC and territories means it’s not a Republic either. The US is it’s own thing neither a union of states or any specific type of government, which seems oddly appropriate.
- DiffEq 6y ago
  So on Hacker News I know get down-voted for stating a patently true and undeniable fact. This forum has devolved into Reddit.
  - brainfog 6y ago
    It may be patently true, but it added nothing to the discussion beyond "well, actually".
    - kryogen1c 6y ago
      he corrected wrong information. how exactly is that not adding to the discussion?
      - brainfog 6y ago
        Words don't have to be used literally. Everyone knew exactly what the original poster meant by democracy. Well-actually'ing on obvious things like this is just tiresome.
      - enraged_camel 6y ago
        It is pedantry of the worst sort: derails the discussion without adding anything of substance to it.
        jakeogh 6y ago
        It's not a trivial distinction. A republic protects the _inalienable_ rights of the minority. It's not up to anyone. It's the reason a creator is valuable to even atheists.
  - mywittyname 6y ago
    It appears that you misunderstand the definition of democracy, which is, a system of government where people may choose their leadership and/or laws, either directly or indirectly. You can argue until you're blue in the face that the USA is not a democracy, but the definition or words is largely determined by consensus. And most Americans would disagree with you and refer to the American system of government as democracy due to their beliefs that voting is the most fundamental determinant of a democracy, and many Americans have first-hand experience voting for leadership, legislators, and laws.
  - hef19898 6y ago
    Germany and France are republics. And democracies. That's a lazy argument to make.

Sadly USA seized to be a democracy quite some time ago

DiffEq 6y ago

The USA was never a democracy and was never meant to be a democracy. The U.S. is a Constitutional Republic.

Retric 6y ago
The existence of DC and territories means it’s not a Republic either. The US is it’s own thing neither a union of states or any specific type of government, which seems oddly appropriate.
DiffEq 6y ago
So on Hacker News I know get down-voted for stating a patently true and undeniable fact. This forum has devolved into Reddit.
- brainfog 6y ago
  It may be patently true, but it added nothing to the discussion beyond "well, actually".
  - kryogen1c 6y ago
    he corrected wrong information. how exactly is that not adding to the discussion?
    - brainfog 6y ago
      Words don't have to be used literally. Everyone knew exactly what the original poster meant by democracy. Well-actually'ing on obvious things like this is just tiresome.
    - enraged_camel 6y ago
      It is pedantry of the worst sort: derails the discussion without adding anything of substance to it.
      - jakeogh 6y ago
        It's not a trivial distinction. A republic protects the _inalienable_ rights of the minority. It's not up to anyone. It's the reason a creator is valuable to even atheists.
- mywittyname 6y ago
  It appears that you misunderstand the definition of democracy, which is, a system of government where people may choose their leadership and/or laws, either directly or indirectly. You can argue until you're blue in the face that the USA is not a democracy, but the definition or words is largely determined by consensus. And most Americans would disagree with you and refer to the American system of government as democracy due to their beliefs that voting is the most fundamental determinant of a democracy, and many Americans have first-hand experience voting for leadership, legislators, and laws.
- hef19898 6y ago
  Germany and France are republics. And democracies. That's a lazy argument to make.