Lesson: Is America really a democracy?/ExerciseD1

Listening Exercise

Political

is at its

right now we're all glad to be Americans because we live in a

. Wait, is this really a democracy? BS: America is not a democracy.

- You see I was talking with this guy.

BS: My name is Ben Swann.

- He does a lot of

about our political system.

BS: and I am a reporter and anchor of WXIX TV in Cincinnati. I am also

and producer of reality check.

- and I was trying to figure out what he meant, so we started talking about

Greece.

BS: Ancient Greece was a democracy, the people had the

say. So, for instance, in the case of the

, instead of having law makers who would draft a

, vote on the bill, and then let the people know what the decision was. They would write a bill, a health care bill, and then all the people would go to the

and the people would vote and if the

of the people said -- we like the health care law -- it would become law. And if the majority of people said -- we don’t like it -- then it wouldn't become law. Everything would be base

majority

. But when the

created our

and our bill of rights they

a form of government and they actually determined that a democracy was the worst form of government.

- Ah, the worst form of government?

BS: Many of the founders said that a democracy was nothing more than

and so they were against democracy and instead

the correct form of government for this free nation was a republic.

- Ah yes a republic! ...to the republic for which it

... So, what's a republic?

BS: Well a republic is a form of government, let me start that again, a republic is a form of government where the people would go to the polls to

men and women who represent them and then those elected

create and vote on laws. The people don't vote directly on laws that

their life, rather it's law makers who are chosen among the people. And these are supposed to be the best, the smartest, the most

, the most moral, the most

men and women in the society who represent the majority of society. And that's the form of government we have in the United States. The other thing that is important to understand is the distinction

democracy and a republic is that a democracy is the rule of man. Man ruling over each other, which our founders believed

into mob rule. A republic is the rule of law, laws are formed and created as a bill of rights or a constitution and then those laws are never

by mob rule or superseded by elected officials. They are all under law. So republic is actually the rule of law.

- You heard it here, we are ruled by law in a republic. Let's go elect some

then. Ben thanks for talking.

BS: It was a pleasure.