Recently, “we’re not a democracy” has become a rallying cry of the Republican Party. Any time someone accuses a red politician of being a threat to democracy, that phrase comes out. And yes, it’s true that we’re not, strictly, a democracy. We’re a republic, a government built upon representation.
When our Founding Fathers built this country, they feared a direct democracy because, as James Madison argued in his Federalist Papers, a majority faction could easily form and oppress a weaker minority without any checks on its power.
Some might say it’s the equivalent of two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner; though not actually said by Benjamin Franklin, it’s still an effective analogy. So instead, a republic was formed, ensuring minority voices could not be entirely silenced.
And yet, the very people who emphasize how “America is not a democracy” when it’s convenient are now fighting to ensure the continued mob rule of the majority faction in Utah.
The Legislature is not only trying to defy Prop 4, it is defying what our Founding Fathers wanted for this country. They’re defying the founding principles of a republic by ensuring the weaker minority can be oppressed and there will be no checks on majority power. The Legislature is fighting to create what the Founding Fathers feared — a direct democracy that awards all power to the majority.
The truth is, Prop 4 defies direct democracy and creates a better representative republic. It gives representation and a voice to minority voters previously smothered into silence. It takes the lamb off the table and gives him a seat at it instead. It finally ends the mob rule.
We’re meant to be a democratic republic, and the Legislature has gerrymandered us into a direct democracy for far too long.
Erin Swan, Spanish Fork
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