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The most disturbing idea on talk radio comes from the mouths of twits who believe that if Election 2000 isn't resolved quickly that Americans should "take to the streets" in protest. That attitude is a complete repudiation of both the authority of the Constitution and the electoral and judicial processes. We dare not cross that line or truly the United States will become a world stupid-power, a cheap banana republic and a nation ruled by the mobs. The very fact that American voters would get on talk radio and even suggest such a course of action is unworthy of the name "American." However misused the phrase "the rule of law" has been (and it has been badly misused) we still have policies and procedures for handling disputes in the court. Yes, we could say in many ways our court system is a "rule of lawyers" (and that's sad) but it beats the dust mites out of any mob rule. The second thing that disturbs me is that there is a generation of Americans out there exercising their right to vote without understanding that America is not a true democracy, it is a federal republic. James Madison and other founding fathers did not create this nation's charter by mistake. The idea of a federal republic, including representative government and the electoral college, was to prevent mob rule and to give overriding authority to the government charter, the Constitution, and all federal and state charters, laws and courts. This is essentially the difference between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans adhere to the tenets of a Constitutional federal republic, while Democrats adhere more to the rule by the people and their special interest groups. Yet candidates from both parties have given affirmation to the rule of law as being the guiding principle that they espouse. They differ, however, in what the rule of law means. (To some, it means "we play til I win.") When the laws are skewed or redefined to cater to any special interest group with total disregard for the overriding well being of the nation and all its citizens, that is not a rule of law, it is a rule of power. This is the very situation the founding fathers were trying to avoid when the Constitution was drafted. Apparently what confuses the issue is the difference between a nation that uses the democratic process of one person-one vote as a right of citizenship, as opposed to a true democracy in which there is a direct vote and strict majority rule on every issue. Many Americans seem to believe we live in a true democracy rather than a federal republic. Where did they go to school? Thus we have Democrats seeking to abolish the Electoral College and Republicans seeking to uphold it. The idea of giving more power to individuals, and especially to some individuals as opposed to other individuals, appeals to the mindset of most Democratic voters. The idea of undoing the cornerstone document of the United States to appease dissident voters is highly objectionable to those who uphold the Constitution and its system of checks and balances. Every American should take a serious look at what happens when mobs rule and ask themselves if they really want mob rule, or whether they want to retain the rule of law and the Constitution that gave us the framework for a great nation. Or is it just that they get a streak of malice if their candidate doesn't win? As for those who want to take to the streets, I have a suggestion: go to Cuba! Join the conversation about the election... © Dorothy Anne Seese, 2000
See our latest columns: View expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Political USA.
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