larc,
You and I posted at the same time, so I wanted to add some comments. Whether we are a true democracy or a republic is a small matter to me. We are not a dictatorship, an oligarcy, and we do not believe in the divine right of kings.
I wasn't slamming America for not being a democracy, but since it is a fact I wanted to make sure it was clear. When Reagan claims that America is the first country to make democracy work, I feel that isn't a correct statement. Most Americans think they live in a democracy, so it is an important distinction to make.
As to whether or not we are in an oligarchy, I may have to disagree. I think we are in a "government by the few," with the few being the corporate interests who tells the politicians what to do more often than not. But boy is that another thread!
The electorial college has its reason for being, but that is a discussion for another day.
I quite agree, and only used it as a ready example to show how America does not have a true democracy.
As I stated before, the Greeks made it work, but not well enough for the idea to spread and maintian itself.
Oh, it spread, all right. We still look to the Greeks for this idea, so what they did so long ago took hold in the imagination of humans. It only didn't maintain itself back then because the Romans sacked them and instituted a republic instead, which is what America has.
We are in the unique postion of making that happen.
Except that America hasn't made it happen. We do not have a true democracy, by the definition of the word. Otherwise we would be pledging, "...and to the Democracy, for which it stands..."