“Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
~Winston Churchill
Since the United Nations General Assembly voted on this in 2007, September 15 has been known as the International Day of Democracy.
Democracy has been around since all the free men of Athens gathered to vote around 500 BC. As I suspect we all know, a democracy is a government in which decisions are made by the people, not senators, not presidents, not aristocrats, and certainly not kings.
I suppose it may shock a lot of people here when I tell you that the United States of America is not technically a democracy, and I am glad of it! In a democracy, general votes are held on every single issue. That’s just not practical once you get more than a few dozen people. (In my experience, it’s no longer practical with more than about three people!)
Instead, the US and most other democracies are actually republics, where the people vote to select their leaders. These leaders then make most of the decisions themselves. However, most of the time when we talk about democracy we’re referring to these wonderful republics.
“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
Hebrews 13:17
