A lot of people seem to think that Democracy and Liberty mean the same things; others seem to think that one comes with another or that you can't have one without the other. I wonder - does anyone really know what they are?
Earlier today, people were telling me "we live in a democracy, and our democracy gives us our liberty" How so? Because in a democracy - majority rules and that's not us. In fact, our Constitution was written explicitly to keep the democratic majority from limiting freedom of speech and other such liberties. The Constitution is a document of liberty - not of Democracy.
None of our fundamental laws support a Democracy, and those that do are slowly changing. Otherwise, wouldn't the abortion debate have ended decades ago? Just put it up to a vote and if you disagree with the majority - well, you're out of luck. And you can do the same with gun control, same-sex marriage, national language requirements, and church activities.
Essentially, an excess of Democracy will only serve to inhibit liberty; which is why we have debates and individual freedom. If people continue to confuse the two, we will see even more rights violated, and more of our freedoms will begin to be taken away. Democracies result in inhibiting women;s rights and constraining press freedom; additionally they do not protect the rights of minorities or minority views. President Bush's largest mistake (in my mind) is his own confusion of what a Democracy means and has been advocating "Democracy" rather than "Liberty" in his global mission.
We would do well to make sure our future leaders understand the difference.
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