Is The U.S. a Democracy Or a Republic? It's Neither.
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- Опубліковано 21 лис 2023
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A 2020 court case ruled voting machines Unconditional
Lindon Johnson 1948 election was admitted to have been stolen . Can accept that Fact and he's the guy made America a majority rule. And started the viatman war sending off those most likely to vote against communism
WeRe not A DeMOcRaCy were an òlìgãrhcichal Republic with a college and gerrymandering
/shrugs in non US
*I've been told that the US is a republic and not a democracy since the 1990s.* Always, by a registered Republican or a staunch conservative. I figured they knew a republic was a hop and a skip away from becoming an empire and that they would all be on the "inside" of that authoritarian regime.
"...the American Dream has brainwashed us into believing that we're all just one good idea away from being millionaires. As oppose to the reality that we're mostly all just one or two bad ideas or crises away from homelessness..."
Well said Leeja
I've known people who just sit around thinking of that one good idea that gets them gobs of cash
'It's called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it - George Carlin
The US American Dream did exist, it's just dead in the US now and more alive in other western countries in Europe, the statistic which shows this is: social mobility.
Which by the way, also went down in these other western countries, but in the US just a lot more.
As an entrepreneur I concur with this statement. Unfortunately for me, I don't care about being homeless as much as I care about being a wage slave for my entire live.
@@autohmae Sounds like the dream is dead just about everywhere then.
Ya know, I think you hit you the nail on the head: Conservatives like to call the US a "republic" because it sounds like Republican, and they don't like "democracy" because it sounds like Democrat. For a non-insignificant number (the majority?), I really think it is that simple.
And it proves yet again that conservatives don't know what words mean.
Makes sense almost a brain washing thing to get use to REPUBLICan
It's so dumb...but it's also the truth
People are stupid, so the most stupid answer is most likely correct. The beverage Corona sells dropped like crazy during 2020-2022 for purely stupid reasons. Maybe, not sure if that reason, while widespread is accurate. Most likely multiple reasons, including not going out to purchase alcohol.
I can't say it hurts, but it also helps them justify when they are a minority of people, but have massive power in congress, especially the Senate.
I learned in 10th grade that the US was both a constitutional republic and a representative democracy, because these terms aren't mutually exclusive, just descriptors of the MULTIPLE mechanisms that define our governance, and also that both are insufficient to the task of fully defining any government.
I have also heard the line "we're not a democracy" used in that same period of time, which was 2008.
There are no safe guards for the minorities in democracys. They could win elections as majority and make laws against the minority. Our constitution prevents this from happening. There are similarities like vote and that is where it ends. There used to be a lot of information on the differences. They use to teach that we are a Constitutional republic and the difference between a domocracys. But the schools have an agenda to re define all sorts or words this being just one. They use to teach that they would try to do this cause it would confuse, this is why they constantly step on the constitution. They can't be the same cause democracys have no checks. That is why some countries say they are a democratic republic. Because they are a democracy but have some kind of check like a constitution. U can't be a republic and say we are a republic and democracy or a democracy and say u are a republic. That is why we have the definition of words and why u have democratic republics. Cause the definitions have simulararities but are not the same. Very large glaring differences. If they were not u would not need to say which u r, or if u are both!
14:32 I want to highlight that "inequalities undergird our liberty" part because conservatives have been saying "there is no systemic inequality" lately.
Freedom and equality of outcome are directly opposed. Freedom to make choices means people will make different choices, and almost any partition of people into groups will give nonuniform outcomes.
@@1495978707 Thanks for the irrelevant comment.
@@1495978707okay sure but maybe we should build a country and/or world where the zip code you grow up in is the most reliable indicator for future success
@@1495978707restricting the ability of groups to make choices is not freedom. Restricting the ability of certain groups abilities to participate is not freedom.
I guess you don't know what systemic means.
Ms. Miller is correct. We are neither a Republic, nor a Democracy. We are rather, a plutocracy.
Well considering most businesses lobby both political parties, wouldn't it be better to say we're a corporate oligopoly?
Kleptocracy? Kakistocracy?
even that's too white. turtle island is an invaded colonized land with my people in the very last stages of genocidal violence.
can confirm first hand.
Oligarchy
Socialist plutocracy, the wealthy rule, but we pay for just about all their extras too. We know the wealthy rule. We also pay for subsidies to their corporations (Exxon, Walmart, every fat cat Bank). We pay for the conflicts or wars they want whether it be for resources or differences in beliefs. Just about anything they want, bridges to nowhere, volleyball gymnasium for their daughter (Farve), the list goes on and on. Imagine if we could channel that MAGA energy and anger upwards?
Please stop referring The Heritage Foundation as a "think tank". A more accurate label for them is a "propaganda mill".
Propaganda is a neutral term. All think tanks are "propaganda mills"
@@QuantumTelephone Some are, some aren't. Some are more reputable. Big difference between Heritage and say CFR or Rand.
I'm not opposed to calling it a stink tank
@roryvance3694 there is a huge difference. But they are all propaganda (designed to help propagate ideas among a less educated populace)
"Propaganda mill." Wow! You win the internet today. 😅
From a European perspective - I am from Germany and was born in the 1960ies - there is in comparison to our political system and the values of our society not much difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party of the USA. This is my perception and please, I do not want to insult anybody, but contribute to a discussion. I am a German we are far more direct when stating our opinion . So here are my thoughts:
The underlying difference between the political systems of the USA and Germany (and many other European countries) is our different understanding how the resources and the decision powers are distributed in a fair manner. "nequalities
"It's not a democracy, it's a republic" is just the opener to an argument that universal suffrage is a bad idea. In other words, redefining our government as a republic but not a democracy is the first step toward arguing that voting isn't a right and disenfranchisement of disfavored groups is acceptable.
@@BradSteeg that particular bumper sticker slogan was lifted directly from the John Birch Society of the 1960s-70s, which was considered the right wing fringe at the time. The Birchers took the position that not everyone should be allowed to vote, that the Founders were wise to restrict the franchise to only those with title to land. I'm sure most of today's right wing fringe doesn't even know this. They do know there's too many of "those people" voting, and they'd like to change it.
@@johnbarker5009exactly!!!
I expect someday soon the Supreme Court with its originalist interpretation to claw back voting rights for all but property owning white men as thats what the framers sought.
Our government IS a Republic. This can't be changed unless actual changes are made, which is next to impossible. And our Republic surely DOES employ principles of democracy.
@@scotthullinger4684 It is both a republic and a representative democracy.
There is nothing more annoying then when a conservative responds with “we aren’t a democracy we’re a constitutional republic”. Because they use it to justify the fact that the Republican Party controls half of the seats in Congress but represent a significantly smaller portion of the population. We are a democratic republic BECAUSE our representatives are chosen by the people and we have organized elections years, not just life time appointments for representatives. The semantics of it just irk me because we should actually be discussing how to fix whateevr system we have so that it represents us better. Not worse.
In other words, few big states gonna dictate entire country
@@rajashashankgutta4334 Depends on what exact dangers New York's interests pose to North Dakota's.
@jacobmoreno9698 see it not as annoying. But amusing. An opportunity to highlight-
"You can literally trace back to 2 weeks ago the exact moment the Heritage Foundation told Republicans 'Hey. Since we've been trying so blatantly to overthrow democracy, we should try to make it easier by just saying we were never 1 in the first place. CoNsTiTuTiOnAl rEpUbLiC!🤪' lulz clown world"
Walk people thru the propaganda. Make it look stupid. As it is.
I'd like to suggest that abolishing the political appointment of supreme court judges effectively for life would be a good place to start.
More zero education from a Socialist.
A republic is a democratic form of government. I always thought people who said that shit were pedants who just think they’re smarter than everyone else
i dont think the people who say this dont even know what it even means.
@@lesbiangoddess290 yeah I always thought they seemed kind of dumb to be telling me what form of government we have.
Yeah. A Republic is a representative democracy.
Republic simply means not ruled by a monarchy.
"A republic is a democratic form of government. " Exactly. I taught my AP Government students (over 30 years ago) that Democracy was a label that applied to "direct democracy" (Athens or New England town meetings), a "representative democracy" (i.e., a "Republic) but even a constitutional monarchy, such as the UK or Sweden.
Whenever a Republican tells me we’re not a democracy, I show them clips of Ronald Reagan preaching about spreading democracy all over the world and saying democracy is the greatest thing ever invented.
Instant cognitive dissonance.
Explain how Democrat party LACK of democracy is NOT "cognitive dissonance."
@gdemolished6986
Mr. Republican is CORRECT -
The USA isn't just a Democracy. It's a Republic.
Learn the differences between them. And in your spare time ...
explain to me how democracy is the worst thing ever invented.
Maybe you mean the best thing ever invented? Surely one of those: Decide.
@@scotthullinger4684 Maybe try learning yourself. A republic IS a form of democracy. It just isn’t a direct democracy.
You may as well argue that the shape you’re looking at isn’t a rectangle because it’s a square.
As to your point about whether democracy is good or not, I made no judgement. I was pointing out that republicans who are vehemently opposed to calling us a democracy because they’re a minority party should ask themselves why Republican Jesus not only called us a democracy, but touted it as the greatest form of government ever.
@@G_Demolished - Why the hell do you believe I'm arguing THAT point? I'm not. Of course a Republic is a form of Democracy. But not every Democracy is a Republic. You ARE capable of comprehending that, aren't you? Democrats want to rule by a simple majority. The USA was designed to avoid that, by enabling a balance of power between the Feds and the states by having 2 senators for every state, and a total of Representatives based on the population of each state, meaning more representatives for higher population states. We also decide the result of presidential elections via the electoral college. There -
Did I dumb it down enough for you? God I hope so!
Oh ... and by the way, a rectangle IS a form of SQUARE.
It's simply not equal on all sides.
This is how Democrats justify their evil machinations. Did I say evil? YUP -
@@G_Demolished - In your spare time, point out to me where Jesus mentioned democracy with regard to his gospel, and furthermore, tell me what Jesus has to do with the topic at hand. I think you took a few detours.
Hmm ... so you think Jesus is a Republican, huh? Nobody knows - he hasn't said.
But based on everything we know about Jesus, we can be VERY confident that he would never be a Democrat of the variety which we currently have.
By the way, the rectangle you're looking at is a Republic. And Democrats are trying to turn this rectangle into a goddamn square. All they need to do is diminish two sides called the Constitution and the Bill of rights. So far, so good. Half way there -
Serving on my city council, the conservatives would stress we are a republic, even saying it louder during pledge of allegiance, to which I would raise my voice on INDIVISIBLE WITH JUSTICE FOR ALL!
and ?
@@victorm56 and we won.
I'm 75. I remember this "we're a republic not a democracy" line from elementary school in the 1950s, but I didn't hear it again until recent years.
Same here.
In school we were taught that the United States is a Republic because it is. The republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind. - Thomas Jefferson
I heard it a lot in the 70's - It is periodically recycled propaganda.
I was hearing this in chat-rooms throughout right-wing channels and websites going back to 2007 around the same time Obama was running.
The left are shameless liars.
As someone who was raised by right wing theocrats- this notion “we are not a democracy, we are a republic” has been around in right spaces since at least the 90s
Well, the Heritage Foundation began to have a significant role in conservatism during the 1980’s, so your anecdote makes sense.
Yep, I've had arguments with conservatives on this subject since 2005. It's definitely not simply a post 2020 thing.
I went to a small private Christian school in the deep south where a big deal was made over this trivial semantic distinction. Of course, they also drilled into our heads that the American Civil War had NOTHING to do with slavery and that everything was JUST FINE in this country until the Hippies ruined it all. This was the early to mid-80's.
It's been around since at least the 1970s.
I'm about 50.
Most of the ideas and framing and talking points of today's far right (which is like 30% of the population, the mainstream RW media, the "independent" RW media, even trolls)...are bastardized versions of conservative viewpoints (most mainstream then) from 50 or more years ago.
I grew up with parents and relatives that were conservative. A lot of today's ideas and framing, ring very familiar to me, but they are perversions of often (FAR from always) well-meaning intentions of yesteryear's conservatives.
There are two key thing missing from all of it today (on purpose): 1) the embraced concept of fairness and "equality"...like actual equality as in equal rights and opportunity for all, 2) and national security and national strength.*
*A personal aside: Both my parents were super religious (I'm not, practically an atheist). They fully believed and used as practical decision-making the separation of church and state. That is because you cannot have fairness and equality of opportunity !under the rule of law! if you mixed religion with governing and laws.
No. Zero education, 208, our Founders said we have a Republic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I binge-listened to several episodes of your content today while cleaning house. The result? A sparkling house, a brain stuffed with interesting ideas, a little bit more despair over where we're at, and a renewed commitment to trying to do something about it.
Thank you for all that!
This rests on a distinction between the words “democracy” and “republic” that doesn’t really exist in practice. “During the 18th century,” the political scientist Robert Dahl once observed, “the terms ‘democracy’ and ‘republic’ were used interchangeably in both common and philosophical usage.”
As someone who grew up in a conservative household with an evangelical (and arguably Christian nationalist) father, I can confirm that conservatives have been using this line consistently since the 90's, at least.
Same. Definitely goes back into the 80s, too.
well they love being wrong without knowing it.
And the Oxymoron is that their own belief of the " Moral Majority " which Republican right-Christian wing cultist says, they are to the world is neither moral nor a majority. Yet looking at their own ideas it shows they are not either...
Bullshit nonsense. America is a Christian nation. Plus what is wrong with Christian nationalism? I would rather have Christian nationalism than a secular woke atheistic government
America or in general the west is built on judeo Christian values.
You can always count on the the American right to misunderstand the essentials of our political history, the ideas behind it.
Huntington and others made this argument in the 1970s -- the excess of democracy thesis. This was the establishment response to the movements of the 1960s who opposed the wars of the day. It was counter-radical reform position, although the radical reformers wanted wanted to unburden America of its mindless mistakes current in the postwar era, e.g. the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the remnants of Jim Crow, etc. Huntington stated that the antiwar movement drove Nixon to commit his crimes. He was deluded -- Huntington and Nixon.
The Constitution framers wrote race and class hatred in the text.
Page, Gillens, et. al. have done much to show that we have the veneer of democracy, that our duopoly party system is actually a cartel party system that only tolerates elections because they siphon legitimation from civil society, they make authoritarianism that is the essence of the state appear legitimate. The cartel party system has no problem bending the knee to the oligarchic sort, to big capital, etc. That's its purpose.
Thanks for the video.
(Edited for clarity)
Yet the debunkers have examples. Well examples going against there case Rome became a centralized power using power of the mob. To government healthcare. Taking out politics unless that billionaire fundamentally hates humanity. Then critizing his funded programs is some how Anti Semetic? Even though he ain't even 🔯 Leela advocate for centralized power all the time. And she said board security was started by the KKK 🤦🤣
And lefties just hate the idea of a constitutional republic.
Can't ban speech, guns, etc.
Cry for me.
I don't think they misunderstand it; they definitely misrepresent it.
@@jeffreyestahlWell said! 👏
they havent misunderstood a damned thing. they are playing the game like the drunk guy in the taxi line, looking for a fight.
its a terrible way to live. but you know it makes them happy.
I've been a quote "starving artist" my entire life. As you said, if there was more equality musicians and artists would find more support and not have to struggle endlessly for survival of basic needs while trying to keep there art alive.
There is no doubt my natural talent as a musician has gone to waste. Its a shame so much genius in the population will never be brought to the light of day.
People like me have so much to share with others that lifts up all of our lives culturally and spiritually.
And we aren't at all arrogant....
Whether or not artists survive financially, rather than starve, has NOTHING whatsoever do with "equality." I'm a recipient of your benefits, because I happen to LOVE music. But I won't allow a political system to make up the differences for YOU simply because people like you think the situation is somehow "unfair."
The point is this - and the ONLY point which matters: If you wish to actually survive, then you must offer something which a MAJORITY of citizens value; either that, or else a tiny minority of ultra rich people who support the arts with their every last cent.
We survive on what a majority of us value. That's just plain old common sense, that's life, and that's a fact. It's monumentally UNFORTUNATE when only a tiny percentage of citizens values the arts. But in the end ... subsidizing for the arts is asinine, because doing so is UNFAIR for the rest of us totally ordinary citizens who do more normal things, such as police work - or the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker -
Trust me - all of THOSE people are every bit as important as YOU.
But WE never get subsidized.
Can't believe I just found you, your explanations are clear and easy to consume. You give a great many people the context that validates what they stand for. Your frank and intuitive way of presenting these complex subjects are of great benefit to the conversation. Keep up the great work.
I can't help seeing our Constitution in the same way I would see somebody still using Windows 3.11 for their computer. I guess it still is working, but it's almost a miracle that it is.
Meanwhile, packets are being lost and there's a strange burning smell...
Kinda like how the Austro-Hungarian Empire really shouldn't have worked but somehow did until it didn't
I've often said that the fact we're still effectively using the same constitution as was written 246 years ago is more a testament to the US's creativity and adaptibility than to any wisdom purportedly expressed by the founders in that document.
@@hattielankford4775the right let out the magic smoke!
Our government in the USA is and always has been a plutocratic oligarchy due to slavery and oppression of the masses. Rise up, let’s change that!
As a high school government teacher, I appreciate your clear explanations. In my class, I never call the framers of the Constitution, “founders” due to its dystopian hero worshipping nature. Framers is my blanket title for these dudes.
There's a extra comma between constitution and "founders," you're separating the subject matter of the sentence. I really like this framing of founders being dystopian hero worship, though! Very astute.
@@DisOcean8"an" extra comma 😉💗
I just found my favorite Karen 😅
Keep teaching; GOD knows we need you.
Edit: apparently one person needed a semicolon...
Well to be fair they did create a country lol. Stop being woke and actually do change. Embrace socialism and anti nationalism 😎
Please point out to your students that these "framers" were not geniuses. They set restrictions on who can be President (must be 35), restrictions for Senators ( must be 30), for Representatives (must be 25) and for Supreme Court Justices the framers included NO RESTRICTIONS AT ALL! You don't have to have any experience as a judge, you don't even have to be a lawyer, and they didn't include any age requirement. So Trump could nominate his 17 year old son Barron Trump to be a Justice.
First off, I must say, I I just found you, and I already love you. You’ve given words to everything I think every day. I always love when I find someone new that I am mediately connect to it, so that I can go back and watch their library. But may make a suggestion if you haven’t, already, which I will find out soon, please do, a show on gerrymandering. But again you are amazing. Your staff is amazing. I’m so excited to have found you!
BRAVO, Leeja!!! Very well researched and explained. I now understand the nuances between democracy and republic much better. Thank you for doing all the hard work.
I know my little comment doesn't mean much but I have written MA thesis on the formation of the US governance in contrast to the French Revolutionary government, and... she literally nearly verbatim paraphrased my own findings. She's insanely correct on what the US system is as a whole.
It's a complete misnomer to use the word 'democracy' in nomenclature that is out of date - they used 'democracy' to refer to antiquity, not the modern definition. The framers of the Constitution meant 'direct democracy'. In modern times 'democracy' means a lot of more, as there had been no modern equivalent of a representative democracy before the US. Republicanism back then meant basically government formed under a constitution, civil service, not subjugation to the king. Same way liberalism cannot be used in the same way today.
Republicans are abusing language and distorting history for political expediency. The US was first of its kind federal representative democracy, a republican government. John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton wanted a balance between agency, and centralized power for security reasons. They didn't see much future in a defragmented government ran by individual colonies - it's LITERALLY IN THE FEDERALIST PAPERS.
I applaud this video. It's very good. In depth, concise, and easy to follow.
Good to know
The Federalist Papers and any other Pre-Constitutional advocacy/opinion is/are less relevant than US Constitution itself, and less relevant than the signers' later elaboration.
There were only a few authors of the Federalist Papers. Much "originalist" phrasing quoted by pseudo-originalists (Kochtivists, notoriously) doesn't resemble any text in the Constitution, suggesting that plurality of signers considered, then discarded such ideas.
Thus, when TFP conflicts with Const., the conflicting TFP text represents (some of) debated ideas that the signers _rejected_.
@@jcbjcb2 The language surrounding the legal documentation of the period matters in the context of how 'democracy' had been understood vs how it is understood now. This is the context. Constitution itself does not provide that supplementary understanding.
Furthermore, Adams, Jay, and Hamilton's arguments for a Federal government had been based on that 18th century understanding of 'democracy' as in direct democracy. The modern misnomer associated with that conflicts with how the framers understood the concept then.
Dismissing that context basically amounts to very poor historical revisionism.
I could go as far as to cite other framers like Benjamin rush whom had shared similar fears of a disunion based on 'democracy' rule. The whole thing hinged on the balance between a centralized power that akin to the United Kingdom vs 'will of the people' - direct democracy.
@@mariuszj3826 Any "pure" system (e.g., "direct democracy") is logistically impossible. The term "democracy" can indicate a range, and the US Constitution demands representative democracy.
Your comment is important because your important. Baba ram Dass you are the party
As a non-American I always jokingly said the US is just a one-party-state split into two identical parties. Now when the US finally gets 2 actually different parties, they get a centre-right and a fascist party.
Heavily disagree, Democrats aren’t center-right. By our standards, (by "our", I mean German, because that’s where I currently live) they would fit into the left-wing camp. The same applies to most European countries. There are barely any countries I can think of, where Democrats would be considered to the right of the center.
FDR loved Mussolini and Stalin. And the party of slavery and their KKK love FDR. The Demonrats. Hitler took the Jews' guns. The Socialists, as in National Socialist Workers' Party, wants our tools of freedom. It is the party of their KKK, the party that loves FDR, who refused to save any Jews and, like Hitler, was a eugenicist. And, like Hitler starving Jews, FDR starved Americans. FDR, the Socialist Demonrats' god, had his own race-based concentration camps. There is a BIG difference between the freedom-loving Republicans and the tax slavery-loving party of their KKK. Europeans gave the world two world wars and the Holocaust and Nazism and Fascism and Communism, and killed 120 million of their own people, with genocide and democide, in the last 100 years, not counting wars. BTW, big, powerful government with weak, small freedom, is Leftwing! Small government, big freedom, is Rightwing!
@@troll2161democrats are not center right. But the democrats politicians are.
@@troll2161 German citizen here. Not really true. The two major parties in the US could be compared to the two major parties in Germany (The SPD and the CDU/CSU). They are what we in Germany would call "Volksparteien" (loosely translated to "peoples parties" but best described as "major parties").
A "Volkspartei" is a political party that dosn't attract a single group of the populus but tries to attract all or many groups of the populus. In that form we could say that the democratic party attracts a broad band from the (european) christian democratic group to a enviromentalist or even social democratic group of the populus. The GOP attracts a broad band from the (european) christian democratic/conservatist group to right-wing followers.
@@gelbphoenix yes I agree, that’s what I implied. The SPD is a part of what I’d call the German left. They definitely tend to be closer to the center these days but there are many policies they support which would place them to the left of the center. And Democrats are WAY closer to the SPD and the Green Party than they are to the CDU/CSU and FDP. There are people who outright refer to themselves as democratic socialists in the Democratic Party, which is completely unheard of in the German right (early post-war Christian socialist CDU politicians don’t count).
I just want to acknowledge that the work you’re doing is so important and very much appreciated. 🥰 (also, PLEASE add your lipstick shades in the description??)
Thank you for all of your hard work making educational content. I really appreciate it.
Big corporations pick who we get to vote for via big cash. Thats not even close to a democracy.
The founding fathers knew that the government they established would turn to shit eventually. Without revolutionary change, they thought the republic would remain useful and viable for 400 years. They were half right. It broke down around the 200 year mark.
A country run by business for business
Which is why we start by overturning Citizens United.
Corporate money doesn’t belong in politics.
Our government in the USA is and always has been a plutocratic oligarchy due to slavery and oppression of the masses. Rise up, let’s change that!
@@Indarow We'll have to get ourselves some progressive or outright left wing justices for that to have even a snowballs chance in Múspellsheimr of happening.
I am old enough to remember when the 'republic not a democracy' was a slogan when Goldwater was running. It is primarily used to justify efforts to restrict voting.
The party of their KKK were the ones who stopped blacks from voting. A pure democracy is two men and one woman voting on who gets raped.
Thank you for sharing. I am 49 and not old enough to have lived through the Goldwater election of the late '60's. I had no idea that this was used before, but I feel like I should've known. I am aware that today's right wing has been around and re-using the same tools that have been used to manipulate for a very long time. Have a good day!
You mean voting more than once don't you? Should I be allowed to sit in a voting booth and vote one hundred times, or do you think 99 of those times ought to be restricted?
@@thomaskalbfus2005this comment is so idiotic, you shouldn’t be able to vote the 1 time
I'm 27, I'm not American, and this is plain obvious to me. Anyone rambling against democracy in favor of *insert any other nice sounding word here* is obviously just mad because elections aren't going the way he wants (conservatism).
This is an excellent presentation! Thank you for your work in creating it!
You’re right. It’s neither. It’s an oligarchy.
Give me a list of oligarchs in the USA who installed themselves into power.
Oops? I meant in Russia, not in the USA. But if you run out of ideas, then also tell me who these so-called "oligarchs" are in the USA.
The entire time watching this video I could hear my
Conservative father in my head repeating “THE US ISNT A DEMOCRACY” to me which I’ve heard my entire life from him. Luckily, his only two children are raging leftists 🤣
Because it’s not
The same people who scream that it's a republic, not a democracy, don't know the difference between the words your and you're.
Or the one I keep seeing more and more of: "are" and "our".
nor They're, There, and Their
Probably only the 3rd video of yours that I've watched and so far my favorite parts are the straight forward titles that straight up tell us what ur gunna tell us, reads like a thesis statement in the best way
Sounds like the phrase "when you're accustomed to privilege, equality can feel like oppression to you."
Yeah go push communism somewhere else. there is no privilege and this lady was a clown, she doesn't even know the difference between "Democratic Republic" and a "Republican Democracy".
This is very astute commentary on the current condition.
I want people to really consider that argument of '51% of people can choose to seize my property.' Counter it with: "so you want a system where 3 guys make the choice instead?" For that is what they are arguing, even if they haven't thought this through enough to realize just how stupid they are sounding....
If the choice is majority or minority, why give all that power to even less people?
Republicans = power goes up. They think that the best people for the job get the job. It's authoritarianism done by children. I hope The US grows up and realizes how primitive and immensely stupid the systems it uses actually are.
"Mob Rule" vs Cartel Rule
If 51% of 330 million people want to seize your property, they probably have a pretty good fucking reason...
The constitution prohibits both the 51% or 3 guys from choosing to seize the property. The Constitution is supposed to prohibit or atleast limit both aboslute majority and Minority rule.
We need to shift from a competitive world view to a collaborative would view. Competition creates hierarchies and psychopaths . Collaboration creates equality and empathy. We need to stop fighting with each other and start working together.
I think a nice mix of the two would be best.
Be careful say this to the wrong person and they will call you a communist
❤
@@freebobafettFor sure - but friendly competition instead of cutthroat competition.
@@sanders555 idk. I like communism, but it requires power to be centralized within the state and any time that happens, someone seizes that power and it devolves into a dictatorship.
I think capitalism has its merits for incentivising discovery and invention, but eventually it centralizes power into a very few number of capitalists and devolves into monopolization of industry, and if left unchecked, a monopolization of everything which is, effectively, a private dictatorship.
They are both flawed in terms of the power concentration necessary for their logistical framework. Neither of them work, individually.
If implemented together, however, they act as a natural check on the other's power.
There's always gonna be assholes, and those assholes need a productive outlet to let their inner asshole shine.
So, I think you need cut throat competition existing alongside communal, cooperative, collaboration. Without both extremes, one extreme will take over and neither extreme ends up being very good for anyone but a very few
I’m 74 white and a sexist according to my daughter. I’m not Democratic or Republican I’m a dumb ass old white guy.
I don’t care what we call our system, and even though you talk a mile a minute keep up the good work. Your are
also cute as a button. Because of me listening to you and liking what I here I must be an old sexist white guy progressive.
Love you Leeja! You are definitely one of my favorite UA-camrs!! ❤❤ Your work is invaluable!
The fact that this isn't completely obvious to most Americans makes my head hurt. Did everyone fail every history class they ever took?
We are a Federated Democracy within a Republic. Our representation is voted on while also having state level access to tools like voting for propositions and plebicites etc.
No, they either never took a history class or were only taught white history… which is the most likely considering red-state legislatures that decide state curriculum.
This is something I didn’t learn until college. I think your answer lies in there somewhere.
It sounds from your post as if you are not in the US. First of all I'm super jealous but secondly there is so much propaganda that is poured into us from day one that it makes it impossible to see around it. There's a saying that goes that if you are the goldfish in the bowl you don't know what color the water is. And it's lack of objectivity that comes from keeping us poor and as uneducated as possible but to still function as workers for their corporate entities.
I think it’s explained but there is a concerted effort by the heritage foundation to trot out these talking points for their political goals
I remember my far-right parents parroting the "not a democracy" narrative as far back as the 2000 election in response to outrage over the disparity between the electoral college and popular vote.
Yep, while hiding/denying stuff like the Brooks Brothers Riot…
@@osurpless I remember my black parents telling me that white people think they can rule over us by sheer majority and that the constitution protects us from you.
Get rid of the electoral college and we will be more of a democracy.
I can't believe that you'd never heard this claim that the US is not a democracy but a republic. It has been around for decades. I think I heard it first in about 1990.
My understanding was always that Democracy is a broad term. A Republic is a type of Democracy.
yes, a democracy is a civilization of citizens who have rights, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and each citizen has one vote, it's not just 'voting' per se, like Republicans are now claiming.
It depends on the definition. If you define "Republic" as "Not a monarchy", a dictatorship is one type of a republic. Or a theocracy. "Republic" is the broad term in this context.
@@ThePandafriendSo how do you explain the various democracies that have emerged from the former British Commonwealth. Australia for example still has the queen as the head of state, but we are a democracy. I would argue that Australia is a much more successful democracy than the United States has ever claimed or insinuated itself to be. The idea that the United States is not a democracy because it's a republic it's like saying that "that's not a dog; it's a mammal!"
@@UberNoodle
A monarchy can be a democracy. Those are two entirely different things.
Also yeah, your comparison regarding the US is good.
A Republic doesn’t needs to be democratic to be a Republic, example the Soviet *Republics* , the People’s *Republic* of China, and the list goes on and on.
The term Republic is just a form of calling a non-monarchical State.
It's an oligarchy.
Beat me to it lol
Oligarchy, plutocracy, technocracy, but really an Empire with an elite caste vying for emperor.
With an òlìgãrhc college like Russia
Well said
And corrupt and rotten to the core.
Excellent discussion. Much appreciated. Keep up the good work.
I apologize for making this weird, but it's what I do best. I wish I just had you tagging along with me all the time so that I could hear you explain everything that happens in US and world politics, court cases and the law, news stories, and honestly just everything. I do understand that nobody wants to just be a high school level teacher for grown ass adults as a full time job, but I would be able to teach you some things too! In conclusion; thank you so much for making these videos and I really appreciate and respect you for just going for it so openly and honestly. I love what you do and I will be following along. *Sending Love*
That Heritage Foundation report almost read like an American Anglophone version of Mein Kampf.
It’s chilling.
Trump is quoting or paraphrasing Hitler more frequently now.
@@jasonodonnell5177 I can believe that. Over the past two years, he's incurred some major narcissistic injuries and is having quite a catastrophic meltdown as a result.
@@allanwhite1533 It seems he is likely already in cognitive decline.
@@allanwhite1533 Nah - major narcissistic injuries happen very infrequently and they can be fatal - he has not suffered anything close to that - the nearest thing is losing the election to Biden in 2020 - and even that was mild but you see what it did - he was perfectly willing to break any law - commit any crime in an effort to cover up that scar - and since has been in perpetual victim mode.
If Sen Mike Lee thinks he doesn't live in a Democracy, how did he get his job?
Lobbyists
Large donors and gerrymandering.
He bought it.
MAGAts consider the USA a democracy when they win elections.
Bribes.
The US government runs on bribes.
This is why Kyrsten Sinema went into government being worth 32k, and is now worth over 3 million
America is a Republic and a democracy. It does not allow Americans to vote directly on legislation. However, America is a democracy because it allows voting for our representatives.
Some states do provide some limited direct or pure democracy through initiative and referendum, but the U.S. Constitution specifically guarantees each *state* a "republican form of government."
All government is based on force. If you don't think so, try failing to stop when a cop orders you to stop. Fail to sign the ticket, and you will be taken to jail even if the ticket is for an air freshener from the rearview mirror. If you resist, the amount of force can be minimal ("move it, move it, and come over here" to move it or else) or up to the ultimate use of force (whack, bang, pow).
The real democracy is the protection of individual rights and the right to a jury trial. For example, some laws became ineffective because juries refused to convict the defendants.
All governments can be corrupt. If you don't think so, look at how Trump talks about being a dictator.
As a former cop, I know how corrupt some good are. The politicians dealt with are often corrupt too. For example one time a city councilman tried to et me fired for refusing to make an illegal arrest. The only reason I was fired is because the city attorney issued an opinion saying I was right.
As a pediatrician, I am happy to have a lawyer explain those concepts which I find difficult to understand. I am also grateful for the work of Democracy Docket in improving access to the ballot box for average Americans. Question: who is your favorite supreme court justice and why. Second, who is your least favorite supreme court justice and why? This question is limited to the current supreme court members.
as a veteran, I took the idea of “freedom and democracy” to heart. thats why I listen to socialists now. Not sure if this channel is but I love it none the less. thank you for you amazing videos!
Navy Guy - originally, the term socialist was extremely benign, and not an insult like tRump uses it for. You sound like you resent the term, but do you realize, as a veteran, you spent a good part of your life in a "socialistic" organization ? (gov't paid). Social Security is socialistic. The Police force is "socialistic". It is not a bad word. Who are these "socialists" you listen to ? The Dems ? They are definitely not a world type socialist party, although some of their members, like Bernie, want to have the benefits for everyone of more "socialistic" things, like health care for everyone, not just the wealthy. You served your country, thank you. Now get more up to date on real politics friend, and vote blue in 2024, or we won't have a "democracy" OR a "republic", we will have a dictator.
They aren't wrong when they say greater democracy could lead to socialism, because socialism is more democratic in principle than capitalism.
Getting fucked over by your bosses' arbitrary whims is just as bad as getting fucked over by crooked and/or incompetent government policies.
@@barrywassel3899 it's a word that means 'worker ownership of the means of production'. there are many of interpretations, but that's the core of it (the commons, worker cooperatives, esops are partially socialist). the state is socialist only if the working class controls the state, ie democracy. the military is socialist only under those conditions as well. so, if we have a plutocracy, then the military is actually controlled by the bourgeois (and hierarchy is right-wing, while anarchy is left). the majority of democrats are hardly socialists. the dnc has declared themselves, publicly, capitalists on multiple occasions. your AOCs may the closest, but your Bernie Sanderses are Social Democratic capitalists. he's a centrist, and the Democratic party, overall, is center-right.
@@jeromyrutter729Thanks for the reply Jeromy - you are thinking of "communist" .. that's worker ownership, not socialist.
@@barrywassel3899 under communism, most property and economic resources are owned and controlled by the state though.
I'm in my 50's & my die hard Republican parents have been spouting this for most of my life.
It was actually a very memorable day for me when I finally had the courage as an adult in my 30's to explain to them why they weren't entirely accurate here. They were merely spouting the talking point that they never raised before it arrived on a fancy mailer sent out by a local politician during the America's Bicentennial.
Then I came with cold hard facts that they merely shouted insults over & refused to even take a moment to hear.
They are still the nicest ppl you know, unfortunately
Hands over my ears: “La-la-la-la-la”.
Our Founders said we have a Republic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Long before your parents were born.
You were in your 30s before you became an adult. Typical of today's young.
@@alwaysfreedom9354 maybe tought of touching grass my guy ?! you dont sound healthy
New subscriber! You make entertaining and informative videos. ❤
The origin of this goes farther back than 2020. I can remember in Texas High school (2000s-2010s) this argument was being made. There was even a commercial for a private school stressing the republic part of a democratic republic.
In my experience raising kids in the 2000's all participants did in fact receive participation ribbons, but the winners still got recognition and larger ribbons or trophies. This is another talking point that is simply not true. Heck most of them are convinced that schools are installing litter boxes for the students who identify as cats.
I thought it was sawdust. Who could afford that much kitty litter these days?😅
Kids hate receiving participation ribbons. It’s so condescending and patronizing. Nobody feels special or included when awarded a participation ribbon.
@@alexwyatt2911 I never noticed kids 'hating' their participation ribbons. I'd say most were mostly indifferent to them and they ended up in a drawer or a shoebox. I've never known kids to find much at all patronizing; that sounds like adult projection IMHO. It always seemed a nice enough gesture to me for the kids who did appreciate them and never understood how people got offended by them. I'm most curious as to how they would make anyone feel less included. As far as feeling special I would restate that in my experience larger awards were always given to the winning teams and also the exceptional performers.
@@jeffreywilliamson4863 Uh, no, it’s not projection lol. I’m relaying what _adults_ have shared about their experience as a child who received a participation award. Everyone I’ve ever encountered has disliked the concept as well as receipt of such a thing. Of course, that’s my anecdotal experience, but you’re also speaking with the same level of insight.
@@alexwyatt2911 Uh, Ok but that just sounds like adults coloring their past with their political ideologies. LOL Find me a 12 year old that "hates" a ribbon. LOL They simply don't. LOL And what about the other points I raised? I'm still mostly curious about how these reduce inclusiveness. LOL
Every time someone says, “We’re not a democracy,” I except them to follow it up with “We’re a cheerocracy”
At least you're not *expecting* it.
Just another way for GOP to say they hate dems guts, crying, moaning, complaining over utterly trivial things.
It's quite funny to me, that Americans allways argue about if they live in a democracy or a republic, while the fact, that you can only get into higher offices by either being filthy rich, backed by lobbies, or supported by other rich people or people allready in power, sounds much more like an oligarchy.
Want to talk about direct democracy? Look up the system in Switzerland. In most cases the people vote who gets a seat in the different levels of government, which gives charismatic younger people without rich families to get into politics, people to on paper found new parties, which then can support their favourite candidates and people allways have a say when new laws have to be passed.
Also they don't have a two party system, preventing any other viewpoints to form outside of the two major groups, which allows for much more nuance and a possibility for the system to change.
I was recently exposed to the idea that the core belief of the Right is that there are individuals that are superior and those individuals should rule (aristocracy). Everything the Right does is aimed at convincing a majority of this. The talking points and tactics change and adapt over time to achieve this.
Scratch a conservative, you'll discover a monarchist.
100% spot on - has always been that way
You're right, we aren't a democracy or a republic; we're an oligarchy, plain and simple
I am sorry, but the US is both a republic (power is held by the people and their elected representatives) and a democracy (a system of government by the populace. Even if it is not the entire populace i.e. registered voters, property holders, etc. they are still only drawn from the populace).
Like all definitions, anally retentive folks can split hairs about it and when that starts nothing can be defined but that is the property of splitting hairs, and not the definition.
If that was completely true the right wing wouldn't constantly try to twist the democratic bits
@@uwillalI am sorry but Americans are not truly the ones making the decisions, the ones with the most money are the ones who have the most power here. The people are nothing, truly, technicalities aside.
We are a long, long way away from our forefather's vision.
@@uwillal the representatives do not enact policies based on what the vast majority of voters want enacted even when they campaign off those promises and are only beholden to lobbyists and interests of the neoliberal elite
Boom!
It's a poorly managed Corporation, but the GOP wants it to be an LLC.
This is a model I can get behind, cause I want it to be collectively owned
@@jodinha4225 But then we would all have stake in government, and civic participation is bad for -democratic backsliding- our republic!
I'm getting incresingly fed up with the right not understanding the difference between a process and a structure. Democracy is the process by which people select their Representatives, a Republic is structure by which the elected representatives govern a country.
The USA is a REPUBLIC which employs the principles of DEMOCRACY.
But the USA surely isn't just a simple democracy, a point which typically gets deliberately overlooked by the Leftist establishment. They prefer a "winner take all" sort of strategy and outcome, something which our system does not support, because we have state governments, and a federal government with 3 branches - a genuine balance of power all around. Hardly perfect, but as damn close to perfection as any nation in the world has managed - a system which, nevertheless, the Democrats are nevertheless
HELL BENT on destroying from top to bottom.
Thank you so much for this education. I really appreciate all your work. I will be sharing this amazing video.
Good job. This sounds like this is basically the core of our political problems. They convinced nearly half of America that it's wrong to follow American values.
And you thinking that the common people have any control over what this corrupt government does is even more unbelievable.
@@samuelbasye3508 , and who are the ones who corrupted our government? It's been touched upon over and over, especially in her videos. The top, who have all the money, colluding with our government.
They, especially the GOP, are fooling avg people into thinking that it's in their best interest to keep others down. However, it is up to the people to stop falling for that. You can stop all the gay marriage, do a deep dive into Hunter Biden's laptop and burn all the books you want. It's not going to raise your wages and give you better health care.
However, you have to be honest. While the Democratic party is greedy enough as it is, mainly the GOP are the ones who keeps pushing all that and they convinced their constituency that those minor issues are what's going to give them better life. It's not.
@@samuelbasye3508 Yes, the people control the government. It's called voting. I admit this last presidential election looks more like fraud, but that's actually part of the voting process. We don't control government's every move, but we vote it into power. Also, in America, the people are by far the most powerful entity in the nation. We could cast off our government in 24 hours. What you see is that the people are idle. It doesn't mean they're not in control, just that they're not actively controlling anything at the moment because things are ok. The worse they get, the more control the people exert, and the more the government fights back. But the power balance is way in favor of the people, by a million miles.
GOP is always crying about something - biggest cry-babies in the history of the world
Are you saying that Republicans convinced Americans to stop following American values?
Well that's just not true. Republicans go back to Lincoln. Republicans basically built the country up to JFK and only then did Democrats do anything good for the country. FDR would've been a better choice had he been elected outside of WW2 and could've done something closer to the the nation.
But Democrats haven't necessarily done it either. They have more so than Republicans but not all.
Going against American values are values such as those in the constitution or tradition.
The people quoting to change these are liberals which are predominantly Democrats. Wanting rid of gun rights is fundamentally going against the constitution and it's Democrats, once again not all, that go against this.
The same applies to the traditional family. It's not Republicans changing this, but Democrats.
It isn't inherently bad changing the founding principles because you can only get better bit the danger is that with change, you get radicals. And these are always km both sides. What you don't want is to change the system into something worse like Lenin did. I can guarantee you that if the US follows the Democrat's path today it will end up worse because it always has. Change doesn't stop at thw red light. Radicals keep pushing and suddenly the people who went against Republicans will be siding with them. But the people already voted against Republicans and so how could they possibly have turned onto the 'good guys'. The true problem is that people have the idea of a 'good' and a 'bad' team. Like a marvel movie. And they say 'my side good, your side bad'.
If you want to fix this problem then stop seeing Republicans and Democrats as bad guys.
I grew up hearing from adults (sometimes in a condescending manner) that we are a republic, not a democracy from as far back as the 60's.
I never heard the point brought up until people started using it to justify that what Trump has been attempting is not that bad. An autocracy is never a good thing
@@ikemancil3850maybe it's like, you know. American conservatives attempting to conserve meanings of words. Especially when the words are describing the system of government that founded the country. Yeah no. I would be dumbfounded to see American conservatives attempting to conserve American ideals and values that created the constitutional republic that we've inherited.
@@rips1231maybe it's like exactly the reason those founding fathers wrote our constitution to enshrine and conserve the thoughts, rights, and beliefs our country had at the time of our founding. Almost like so that people who value our country could look back and pass forward the teachings thoughts and ideals into the future. And maybe those conservatives conserving what is meant to be conserved is a good thing haha.
@@codyharney2997 nailed it bro😂
@@rips1231 y'all are not "conserving" any meanings of words, y'all are twisting them beyond recognition (yeah, "the other side" does too, but i'm addressing your comment)
Thomas "Common Sense" Paine:
"The only forms of government are, the democratical, the aristocratical, the monarchical, and what is now called the representative.
What is called a republic is not any particular form of government. It is wholly characteristical of the purport, matter or object for which government ought to be instituted, and on which it is to be employed, res-publica, the public affairs, or the public good; or, literally translated, the public thing." Age of Reason, part 2
(another example would literally be in the claim, "republic not democracy"- Athens was a direct democracy, and it was a republic, those are facts)
This is really good content but then again...I think pretty much all your content is really good.
Brilliant , through and through. Thanks Leeja 🙂
Fun fact, the UK decided to commit national economical suicide by way of a pure democratic referendum. 52% vs 48% and the country was plummeted into chaos.
It’s the Tories that did this. They are the equivalent of Republicans in Britain.
It is not past the right to use pure democracy when it suits them.
It wasn't even a binding referendum. The Tories could have simply said "That's interesting and we'll work to address concerns, but a narrow majority is not enough to make such a drastic change in the nation's policy." But they didn't because pandering to their base was easier for them, not the nation, for the Tory members of Parliament.
It takes more than a 52% vs 48% to secure a piece of legislation through a direct vote. 55-60% has been the accepted threshold for a long time in nearly all referendums except for in first past the post elections. In a direct democracy 52% to 48% would be a wash and the legislation would have to be tweaked or abandoned. The fact you cited Britain is also an L. You really had to reach to the bottom of the barrel to find an example to throw shade at democracy, in your blatant attempt to advocate for the tyranny of the aristocracy instead.
It's an example of how a lack of material analysis in creating a worldview results in bad praxis. Instead of recognizing their woes as a result of being subject to neoliberal domestic policies like austerity and free trade, they thought their issues were caused by "foreigners" that being in the EU was letting in.
I'm quite certain that Democracies and Republics can only work properly with mass education of the people. That starts with a completely independent news sources and a lot of them. If people are voting against their best interest, then there is something wrong with the people and not the form of government.
@@musclestruts5032Im going to go out on a limb and assume "they" is the Tories. In which case you may want to reconsider your basic assumption that they are being honest and acting in good faith. If they are anything like the American Republican Party I can assure you that they did not for one single second think that the immigration was the root cause of the problem here.
I remember my professor in sociology at ULL saying America is an oligarchy. Boy was she right. Actually it’s a theocratic oligarchy in my opinion.
Education ended in the US when my World War Two vet teachers retired. That was the 70s. If you do not know FDR was a Jew-hating racist who loved Stalin and Mussolini, and starved Americans to death, you are not educated. If you cannot build your own home with our own two hands, you are not educated. I did it twice. The first one just out of high school. And I paid cash for my second home and my commercial building. Where I ran my business for many years. The last time I had a job was 1976. Ran small businesses. Including a Jewlery store.
I’m college educated. I have a bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science. I started off pre-law. I graduated on the Dean’s List. Also your response had nothing to do with my comment.
@@joelmouton9365 Education in the US ended in the late 70s. No. You are not educated! You have been indoctrinated! When my World War Two vet teachers retired, that was the end of education in the US. If you do not know FDR was a Jew-hating racist eugenicist, who forced farmers to help him starve Americans, you are not educated. Also, there are almost no real men in the US anymore. No way could we stop the Holocaust with today's young "men."
@@alwaysfreedom9354as someone that is an outsider and not that knowledgeable know that FDR was one of the best presidents you had in recent history. Gave workers better rights and was basically the only one warning and trying to reign in the coming concentration of power of corporations. Tells me all I need to know. You're all hands no brain.
You may be right about him hating jews, but explain how he loved Stalin and Mussolini at the same time? Most boomer take, they must be the same cuz "authoritarianism!!!".
Jfc, boomers need to go before they press the reset button.
I was hearing my mother tell me America was a “Republic, not a Democracy” all the way back in 2016
I bet she couldn't define the word. Meaning no disrespect.
Our mom was right, The Founders wanted to avoid a pure democracy which establishes majority rule in every aspect of the US government therefore depriving minority populations, (non-plual) of their individual rights.
@@jamesofalo6247
No nation on earth has a direct democracy. Our democracy works through elected representatives.
@@ws6002 i agree, but many of the people commenting here believe we do.
You are So Great, I love you! And you are so Very Intelligent, thank you for All you do and all the information that you share with us all ! ☮️
You were lucky, I've been hearing this argument from conservative friends for years, how the US isn't a democracy but a republic, going on 15 years now
yeah I've had this argument with republican friends waaay before 2020. It's definitely not a recent trend.
Tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth...15 years is a long time; not wonder they think they are correct.
Why are you friends with fascists
@stoppit9 I live in a conservative state in Iowa, they are not all fascists. It's not productive to resort to name calling, just because some conservative politicians have resorted to it, doesn't make it useful in trying to get them to see another perspective. It would also require me to not speak to half my family as well, if I refused to speak to any conservative, yes I'm unlikely to change any minds but I also recognize that completely shutting them off leads to a 'silo' effect where they or I live in an echo chamber and effectively never hear from the other side. That kind of mentality helped lead to January 6th and I'm not going to help contribute to it. Yeah, my influence is never going to change their minds but it at least forces them to see their blind spot and realize there is often more to a story then what conservative media gives them. It's a small thing, but it's important and has worked before, especially with family members.
We live in hell, not a democracy.
The movie kill the messenger starring Jeremy Renner
If this is Hell to you, then you're extremely privileged.
Demoncracy
This is the worst simulation. Someone in the year 3012 said, "I wonder how things would have turned out if that narcissist Donald Trump had won the Presidency in 2016. I should run a simulation of that on my wristwatch supercomputer". And here we are, trapped in that simulation.
One thing is always true. It can Always Get Worse
You do such great work! Thank you 👍🏼😁💙
A Republic, if you can keep it.
Benjamin Franklin
This is genuinely terrifying. Ive always said trump is so anti democracy. And now these people WANT anti-democracy. When will this insanity end?
When you install a king, duh.
Basically if Trump wins a lot of people are gonna have to leave. He's now at the level of calling the left "vermin" and has talked about establishing "camps". I believe that was for the purpose of immigrants but we all know what Hitler did with those he called vermin. It's not gonna be another term where we can just laugh at how stupid he is and wait for it to be over. Project 2025 would also like to implement mass imprisonment of the lgbt community. So hopefully Trump will lose and this could all possibly end, but I wouldn't count on that either. It could be really ugly for a while. But him losing is really the only way we have a shot
My fear is that it won't.
I know! But on if my Trumper friends said the other day that she wants a democracy. She doesn't see how Trump and the right want to do away with democracy.
@@bethflynn4278 give your trumper friend the bullet points of project 2025. Show her the pic of Trumps and Hitlers rhetoric. Just keep talking to her about it. Talk to everyone you know about it. We have 11 months to make people see the reality of a 2nd Trump term
As a Canadian, I found your video both informative and entertaining. We face similar problems in Canada. Yes, we need to get the money out of politics, among other things...
same here!!
Yes, especially since these things have a way of crossing the border.
Defund the catholic church.
@@valolafson6035 What do you mean?
Trudeau said the quiet part out loud in an interview: "Canada is an oil company."
I love your content! Especially when u say “roll the intro” - u know shit is about to get real 😂 thank u
Very nicely done, Miss Miller! Great video!
Amongst the egregious, all-encompassing firehose of anti-Enlightenment ignorance and stupidity that gushes unremittingly from the American fascist right, there is, at least, real hope of redemption in the small, articulate voice of Leeja Millar. Fight on Leeja; the world needs you.
Very well said Professor 😍😍
I highly recommend Beau of the Fifth Column as a companion subscription. He's extremely good helping to parse out some of the more hysterical things that come out of the newspaper these days
@@DeniseEngle-vl3phBeau was a human trafficker
Well we should be anti-enlightenment. That was 300 years ago. We should embrace the revolutionary ideas that followed and improved upon the enlightenment. Sure the enlightenment brought us the first taste of Western democracy, but it also brought us constitution monarchies, and imperialism. It's ideas are deeply flawed.
Fascism is Liberal and Democratic
No one wants to say that they want a brutal Authoritarian State that will enforce their version of Apartheid, but only so long as the Autocratic Leader they pine for is their guy.
Only the right wing yearns for authoritarianism.
19:14 And it barely worked once it shifted to an empire. The creation of the Colosseum was to distract and placate the masses from the dibilitating hunger and poverty sweeping the entire empire, while the royalty, nobles, and oligarchs lived in oblivious luxery.
Leeja, you are a lawyer, and clearly a very smart one. Long ago I also completed two degrees in law here in the UK, but subsequently decided not to pursue a career as an attorney (or solicitor). My own reading of legal history alongside modern Western history leads me to the conclusion that increasingly legal codes, constitutions and common law are regarded by our elites (corporations, the oligarchical class and parliamentary lawmakers) as little more than inconvenient impediments to the exercise of executive power.
On both sides of the pond we are witnessing a steady degradation of genuine and meaningful democratic norms, and their substitution with an ever more expansive use of executive power. Moreover, in the US, as in Israel, the judicial oversight function is increasingly being co-opted by more strident right wing governments eager to use both legislative amendment and appointment of sympathetic reactionary judges.
It now seems to me that there remains little that we as concerned citizens can do to arrest or reverse the evolution of these governance institutions in to little more than instruments of our increasingly proto-fascist governments. Do you think there is much, if any, hope of our being able effectively to challenge these disturbing developments?
The fact that someone was able to sleep after typing the drivel that passed as that paper, is truly disturbing. That there is a sizeable population who, when told to believe this, wholeheartedly do... Is terrifying.
Meh. Look at the Bible and you’ll find innumerable ridiculous ideas that people swallow heartily.
Then look at all of the other crazy shit they believe, and all of a sudden you’re waist deep in nonsense fan fiction that’s not even supported by their bible.
The specifics of politics bores them till their eyes bleed - they don’t care what’s true - they just want to know what they should believe.
I can't imagine 24 solid pages of that pure garbage all just to say the HF hates democrats. The chicken shit cry-babies should come right out and say it. Hate comes first - make up a reason to hide behind later.
I've watched a lot of youtube in the last few years (retired), and this is one of the best videos I have seen, Leeja. America would be so much better off if every citizen watched even just a part of this. All the great adjectives apply : truthful, fact filled, hard hitting, well-explained, poignant, vital ... etc. Thank you.
This is a well hidden, secret PLUTOCRACY run by well hidden Trillionaire families that have secretly held WORLD power for centuries, right under everyone's nose. Big $$$ easily buys Big Power, but they do it quietly while the sheep sleep & mindlessly pay their TAXES! it's OK since everyone loves & wants it this way...the eternal shell game of "SUPPLY & DEMAND"! 😂
The word Republic comes from the latin word Res Publica which is the latin translation of the greek word democracy. In fact Greece's official name in Greek Ελληνική Δημοκρατία which if literally translated would be Hellenic Democracy but is often translated as Hellenic Republic in official diplomatic documents.
I remember when Obama reprimanded John Roberts at a state if the union speech for passing citizens united. Roberts just shook his head.
yeah Obama did not know - that is what he was put there to do - citizens united and the get rid of the voting rights act - Obama did not get those memos
Here is why I (a radical leftist) think the distinction is important. Crazy idealist that I am, I actually think it is possible to learn from history. By our modern definition of "democracy", there has never been any such thing. In ancient Athens women, slaves, the foreign born and those who had never served in the military couldn't vote-in other words a majority of the people living in Athens. There is, however, a long history of various republics... and something to be learned from it, particularly Rome, since this was such a big influence on the US. I would say we are more a republic than a democracy, but a corrupted republic- a plutocracy- with certain democratic trappings- and much of the power held by corporations, rather than individuals (hence more plutocratic than oligarchic).
Arguably, the purest democracies ever were the anarchist revolutionaries in Spain and Ukraine.
This takes me back to when my dad was in the John Birch Society. Robert Welch who was the founder of the organization had a slogan "this is a Republic not a democracy. Let's keep it that way."
We are technically a republic.
The vast overwhelming majority of the human population have very strong sociopath tendencies in every major country, especially when it comes to politics. As a group, they decide who becomes the political establishment. They embrace authoritarianism, mass media censorship, police states, mass murder and torture carried out by the state and militarism. They look for scapegoats. They live in hypocrisy and they live the lie.
The largest political party in US and world is the Sociopath Party.
We are an organized crime state like Russia and China. The state can carry out domestic assassination covertly with impunity. Police cooperate and call them suicides, accidents or drug overdoses.
For the last 50 years, I considered Conservatives like Russia putinists or china communists.
.If you read the bibles on communism, you'd realize communism never existed.
John Birch like most conservatives were supporters of authoritarianism.
Alex Jones father was also a member. Henexposed 911 lie then exposed himself when he supported trump.
Did anyone you met Patrick actually understood that doubletalk ? Isn't it like saying I don't have an automobile, I have a self-powered coach or a car ? And those people thought they were intelligent ?
When Benjamin Franklin emerged from Independence Hall in 1787, he was asked by a woman, according to lore, "What kind of government have you given us?” Franklin's reply: “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.”
This makes me think of an old radio ad for a charter school where there was this "interview" asking what type of government the United States had. Didn't think about it at the time, but understanding the context makes me wonder if there was a different message they were trying to send.
Outstanding presentation. The idea that certain people are innately more intelligent, more capable, superior in every important way and that any idea, system or government that contradict this "truth" is contrary to the will of god is a central thesis elucidated by Hitler in Mein Kampf.
That was racism and Jew-hating. And FDR agreed with Hitler. FDR was a eugenicist. The fact is, Jews have higher IQs! On average! That does not make them better than anyone.
Thank you Leeja for continuing to feed us all this amazing quality content!
Feed is the word.
Wow … this video is the reason I love your channel, thank you for all you do!
The Heritage Foundation quoting all the parts of Democracy In America by DeTocqueville that dealt with subverting the US government and society.
For those who haven't read it, DeTocqueville wrote his observations of early US life and government to advise French royalty on how to PREVENT the rise of an American style of government in France. The path Heritage Foundation is laying out comes from all the parts on how to dismantle American government.
Democracy in Switzerland: Every citizen has the right to submit any decision of a local, regional and federal government to the population for a vote. The result is binding.
Republic in the USA: No desire for politics. I choose the one that promises me a lot.
no not even close. USA-- vote against the person you hate the least.
I worked at Novartis and spent a lot of time in Basel. One of the first election posters I saw there was for a vote against the party of immigrants depicted as black sheep and for true Swiss who were white sheep. That poster would have not been allowed in the US and shows that the Swiss are not as good as they like to say they are. Don't get me wrong I love Switzerland and the Swiss, but you should be careful of implying the superiority of your system of government.
There is a man in Switzerland on UA-cam who has been criticizing his country for years.
@sextond ditto when it comes to the Dutch, seeing as they are about to elect a right-wing rabble rouser
@@ryanjonathanmartin3933 Rightwing is small government/big freedom. Leftwing is Stalinism. An animal who starved millions.
In the early 90s Rush Limbaugh was daily telling his audience that we lived in a Republic.
Now he is burning in hell.
MORE, please!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Headed over to Patreon! )👍