The United States is NOT a democracy and never was

[LogGrad98]

So we aren't a republic either, since a republic by definition is a representative government and it is easily shown the government does not represent the people. We are a business, with emphasis on providing the elected officials a hefty salary and premier bonuses and perks. The service they are selling is influence in the government to provide an advantage to other businesses and organizations. It is almost like the most powerful consulting firm on the planet. The price varies wildly, but there is always a price. It is run on a bid basis, and the influence generally goes to the highest bidder. Unfortunately all "we the people" can offer is the standard salary of $174,000 per year, which cannot compete with millions for campaign funds and other perks directly or indirectly "paid" to the legislators. Since we are the low bidders we only get what we want or approve of 30% of the time, you know, on the stuff that doesn't have a huge influence on some monster corporation or industry or doesn't interest some mega-billionaire. The other 70%, you know the important stuff that has a real influence on us all, there are higher bidders in place that take precedent. So we should stop pretending we have an actual government and accept that we are run by the Influence Brokers of The United States of America.

I have always held the position that until we get rid of lobbying and crack down on this kind of legal bribery we will never get ahead in the areas that matter most, like healthcare for everyone.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

So we aren't a republic either, since a republic by definition is a representative government and it is easily shown the government does not represent the people.

As I have been trying to tell you for this entire thread, that is NOT THE DEFINITION OF A REPUBLIC. Teachers like The Thriller have ruined everyone's brain by conflating 'republic' with 'representative democracy'. What the Princeton study found was statistical proof that we do not act like a representative democracy to which political science says "duh". The difference between a republic and a representative democracy is that in the former there is something or many somethings more important than popular support. That Princeton study concluded that something or many somethings are more important than public support in how the US government functions.

I'm happy you found your own evidence to support what I have been saying all along. We aren't a representative democracy. We are a republic that democratically elects some office holders. We are a democratic republic.

 

[LogGrad98]

As I have been trying to tell you for this entire thread, that is NOT THE DEFINITION OF A REPUBLIC. Teachers like The Thriller have ruined everyone's brain by conflating 'republic' with 'representative democracy'. What the Princeton study found was statistical proof that we do not act like a representative democracy to which political science says "duh". The difference between a republic and a representative democracy is that in the former there is something or many somethings more important than popular support. That Princeton study concluded that something or many somethings are more important than public support in how the US government functions.

I'm happy you found your own evidence to support what I have been saying all along. We aren't a representative democracy. We are a republic that democratically elects some office holders. We are a democratic republic.

I'll just leave this here...

 

[Al-O-Meter]

I'll just leave this here...

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View attachment 12813

You should just leave it here:

Dictionaries now routinely correct definitions to encompass popular idiocy. A quick way for you to fact check your definitions is to ask yourself if North Korea would be included in that definition as North Korea is a republic. It is a sad reality that the 2+2=5 crowd has gained so much power and now we can't agree on what a woman is, or what violence is, or what constitutes a riot, and now they're going to work on what a recession is. If you took political science more than a decade ago, that is not the definition for republic you will find in your text.

 

[Avery]

You guys are very passionate about this topic.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

You guys are very passionate about this topic.

The popular fashion to redefine terms to make it fit the result you want is a thing that doesn't sit well with me at all. It has been around for a while but really gained traction around 2016 with the push to redefine racism as power + prejudice so that racist AF hustlers who happen to be ethnic minorities can't be labeled as racist. The popular thing was to dismiss dictionaries and say "sociologists define racism as...". It wasn't true and if you have a sociology text from before 2015 they define racism as prejudice against an ethnic group. Almost overnight all the sociology texts were rewritten to encompass the new P+P=R definition. It worked so well that now the tactic is used for everything including what constitutes a recession and what constitutes a republic.

 

[LogGrad98]

You should just leave it here:

Dictionaries now routinely correct definitions to encompass popular idiocy. A quick way for you to fact check your definitions is to ask yourself if North Korea would be included in that definition as North Korea is a republic. It is a sad reality that the 2+2=5 crowd has gained so much power and now we can't agree on what a woman is, or what violence is, or what constitutes a riot, and now they're going to work on what a recession is. If you took political science more than a decade ago, that is not the definition for republic you will find in your text.

 

[fishonjazz]

You should just leave it here:

Dictionaries now routinely correct definitions to encompass popular idiocy. A quick way for you to fact check your definitions is to ask yourself if North Korea would be included in that definition as North Korea is a republic. It is a sad reality that the 2+2=5 crowd has gained so much power and now we can't agree on what a woman is, or what violence is, or what constitutes a riot, and now they're going to work on what a recession is. If you took political science more than a decade ago, that is not the definition for republic you will find in your text.

Make america dictionaryless again! Freaking dictionaries always defining stuff differently than Al thinks they should.


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[fishonjazz]

The popular fashion to redefine terms to make it fit the result you want is a thing that doesn't sit well with me at all. It has been around for a while but really gained traction around 2016 with the push to redefine racism as power + prejudice so that racist AF hustlers who happen to be ethnic minorities can't be labeled as racist. The popular thing was to dismiss dictionaries and say "sociologists define racism as...". It wasn't true and if you have a sociology text from before 2015 they define racism as prejudice against an ethnic group. Almost overnight all the sociology texts were rewritten to encompass the new P+P=R definition. It worked so well that now the tactic is used for everything including what constitutes a recession and what constitutes a republic.

Speaks of being against redining things and at the same time redifines words from the dictionary the way he wants lol.


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[Al-O-Meter]

Speaks of being against redining things and at the same time redifines words from the dictionary the way he wants lol.

I disagree with what you are saying but at the same time I begrudgingly have to admit that was well played.

 

[BabyPeterzz]

Speaks of being against redining things and at the same time redifines words from the dictionary the way he wants lol.


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[One Brow]

... as North Korea is a republic.

This speaks volumes to what you want our government to be.

It is a sad reality that the 2+2=5 crowd

Creationists?

... we can't agree on what a woman is,

The term "woman" has always carried social expectations and understandings.

or what violence is,

Right-wingers seem to think violence is when they criticized on the internet, but not when they attach protestors with metal batons.

or what constitutes a riot,

Right-wingers seem to think the Jan. 6 mob was not a riot.

and now they're going to work on what a recession is.

Recessions have always been declared by the NBER, and have no simple, set definition.

The U.S. Had 6 Months Of Economic Decline. So What’s The Definition Of A Recession?

This morning we learned that economic growth was negative for the first six months of 2022. So how does the NBER define recessions and will it matter to markets?

www.forbes.com

If you took political science more than a decade ago, that is not the definition for republic you will find in your text.

Was 1828 less than ten years ago?

Websters Dictionary 1828 - Webster's Dictionary 1828 - Republic

Websters Dictionary 1828 - Webster's Dictionary 1828 - Republic

webstersdictionary1828.com

REPUB'LIC, noun [Latin respublica; res and publica; public affairs.]

1. A commonwealth; a state in which the exercise of the sovereign power is lodged in representatives elected by the people. In modern usage, it differs from a democracy or democratic state, in which the people exercise the powers of sovereignty in person. Yet the democracies of Greece are often called republics.

2. Common interest; the public. [Not in use.]

Republic of letters, the collective body of learned men.