Lesson: Is America really a democracy?/ExerciseD1

Listening Exercise

Watch the video and complete the text according to what you can understand. Political season is at its height right now we're all glad to be Americans because we live in a democracy. 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 journalism about our political system. BS: and I am a reporter and anchor of WXIX TV in Cincinnati. I am also host and producer of reality check. - and I was trying to figure out what he meant, so we started talking about ancient Greece. BS: Ancient Greece was a democracy, the people had the ultimate say. So, for instance, in the case of the health care law, instead of having law makers who would draft a bill, 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 polls and the people would vote and if the majority 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 upon majority rules. But when the founders created our constitution and our bill of rights they established 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 mob rule and so they were against democracy and instead felt the correct form of government for this free nation was a republic. - Ah yes a republic! ...to the republic for which it stands... 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 elect men and women who represent them and then those elected leaders create and vote on laws. The people don't vote directly on laws that affect 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 ethical, the most moral, the most upright 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 between democracy and a republic is that a democracy is the rule of man. Man ruling over each other, which our founders believe turns 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 superseded by mob rules 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 officials then. Ben thanks for talking. BS: It was a pleasure.