Republic – Conservative, Liberal, or Democratic

The United States of America (USA) was established some 233 years ago as a Republic, which meant that We the People (WtP) would elect People among Us to represent Us in Our Government.  But what does that mean and how is it really supposed to work?  On the surface, it appears as though it could be a rather simple concept.  However, WtP have grown from a few million interpreters in 1789 to more than 328 million interpreters as we prepare to enter 2022.  One thing that has become abundantly clear over the past several years is that Our interpreters have gathered in many different and often opposing camps of thought.

In a Country over Party camp, one might consider the USA to be a Democratic Republic with a Government elected to represent constituent groups of WtP where the elected Government fulfills its duty to represent those constituent groups.  In some Party over Country camps (such as the Democrat and Republican Parties), WtP are asked to decide between a Liberal Republic and a Conservative Republic where the winning side gets to preside over the losing side with little concern for the opposite half of the population for two to eight years at a time.  When all We do is take turns bullying the half of our population having the opposing perspective, can We legitimately be surprised by the intense animosity that has festered over the past decade?

The four years under the control of Donald J. Trump stand out today as an extreme example of Party over Country including an overt attempt to establish the USA as a permanent Conservative Republic, or even a Conservative Dictatorship.  While WtP are singularly focused on what consequences should be faced by the Party of Trump for its abuses of power, We need not lose sight of the fact that there are Liberal Republic camps out there that, if given a chance, would likely not hesitate to turn the USA into a permanent Liberal Republic, and maybe even a Liberal Dictatorship.

The USA has survived for 233 years because of the delicate balance that has long been established between the Right and the Left with a heavy Center to keep it from tipping too far one way or the other.  We could not have become such a prominent force in global affairs if that balance didn’t exist.  As the Left and the Right now dig in to become opposing factions in a new Civil War and pull those in the Center toward the Left or the Right, it is the shift in that long-established balance that is threatening to tear Us apart just like what happened in the 1860s.

Now is the time for Us to restore Our Democratic Republic and put Country over Party once again.  Part of that restoration needs to include options for choosing representation beyond the binary choice of Democrat or Republican.  The two-Party system is no longer suitable in a connected world for a country that has grown to more than 328 million interpreters of a broadly written Constitution that was designed in a much simpler time.  The time to take a stand is now!  Tomorrow, it may be too late.

Who Are America’s “True People”?

This question came up following an organized march in Washington, DC on 4 December 2021 by a group of just over 100 people who call themselves “Patriot Front”.  Thomas Rousseau, the Front’s leader, said, “Our demonstrations are an exhibition of our unified capability to organize, to show our strength—not as brawlers or public nuisances, but as men capable of illustrating a message and seeking an America that more closely resembles the interests of its true people.”

So, who exactly are the “true people” of “America”?  Could it be the indigenous peoples who lived on the lands now defined as the United States of America before that nation was formally documented in 1789?  Could it be anyone who has been granted citizenship to the country that became the United States of America in 1789 and still exists today?  Could it be any person who has successfully established a life inside the borders of the United States of America?  Or, are there other possibilities that I haven’t presented here?

Indigenous Peoples are defined by the World Bank as “distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced.”  While it turns out that the indigenous peoples from the lands that now make up the United States of America were not “Indians” as Christopher Columbus called them, those native American peoples clearly have solid arguments to claim themselves to be the “true people” of America.

The United States of America has been globally recognized as a sovereign nation with defined borders since 1789.  The current borders have been unchanged since Hawaii was added on 21 August 1959.  The Constitution of the United States of America defines requirements for citizenship.  There are currently more than 300 million people in the world who are recognized as citizens of the United States of America.  There are certainly solid arguments for making a claim that citizens of the United States of America are the “true people” of America.

Anyone who has established a life within the borders of the United States of America is a true person, if we consider that most definitions of person include a reference to any individual human being.  Given the common belief in America that “possession is nine-tenths of the law”, there is definitely an argument that can be made to claim that anyone who breaths air within the borders of the United States of America could be considered among the “true people” of America.

Perhaps there are other groupings of people who could make a claim to being the “true people” of America that I haven’t thought about yet?  Regardless, I say with a high degree of confidence that the group calling themselves “Patriot Front”, or any other small group of people occupying space in the United States of America (for example, any group making up less than one percent of the populations described above as candidates for “true people” of America), is not among those who can stake a claim to being the “true people” of America.  If anyone, including the Patriot Front, disagrees with me, I’d love to hear the legitimate arguments they’d care to make.

The United States of America exists as a Democratic Republic and it can’t be a true Democratic Republic if its “true people” make up such a miniscule portion of its population.  In addition, the United States of America will not survive as a Constitutional Government if we keep fighting amongst ourselves over which small group should be in control.  “We the People” are a collective of ALL THE PEOPLE, not just the people that think in one, very narrow way!