Ever wonder why we are called a "Republic"?

[Boats]

Ever wonder why we are called a "Republic"?

What's the 1st thing we learned in school?

(a) The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God,2 indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Notice that the word republic is capitalize - why is that ( ever wonder?)
RE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...?noredirect=on

We often hear people argue that the United States is a republic, not a democracy. But that’s a false dichotomy. A common definition of “republic” is, to quote the American Heritage Dictionary, “A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them” — we are that. A common definition of “democracy” is, “Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives” — we are that, too.

The United States is not a direct democracy, in the sense of a country in which laws (and other government decisions) are made predominantly by majority vote. Some lawmaking is done this way, on the state and local levels, but it’s only a tiny fraction of all lawmaking. But we are a representative democracy, which is a form of democracy.

And indeed the American form of government has been called a “democracy” by leading American statesmen and legal commentators from the Framing on. It’s true that some Framing-era commentators made arguments that distinguished “democracy” and “republic”; see, for instance, The Federalist (No. 10), though even that first draws the distinction between “pure democracy” and a “republic,” only later just saying “democracy.” But even in that era, “representative democracy” was understood as a form of democracy, alongside “pure democracy”: John Adams used the term “representative democracy” in 1794; so did Noah Webster in 1785; so did St. George Tucker in his 1803 edition of Blackstone; so did Thomas Jefferson in 1815. Tucker’s Blackstone likewise uses “democracy” to describe a representative democracy, even when the qualifier “representative” is omitted.

Likewise, James Wilson, one of the main drafters of the Constitution and one of the first Supreme Court Justices, defended the Constitution in 1787 by speaking of the three forms of government being the “monarchical, aristocratical, and democratical,” and said that in a democracy the sovereign power is “inherent in the people, and is either exercised by themselves or by their representatives.” And Chief Justice John Marshall — who helped lead the fight in the 1788 Virginia Convention for ratifying the U.S. Constitution — likewise defended the Constitution in that convention by describing it as implementing “democracy” (as opposed to “despotism”), and without the need to even add the qualifier “representative.”

To be sure, in addition to being a representative democracy, the United States is also a constitutional democracy, in which courts restrain in some measure the democratic will. And the United States is therefore also a constitutional republic. Indeed, the United States might be labeled a constitutional federal representative democracy. But where one word is used, with all the oversimplification that this necessary entails, “democracy” and “republic” both work. Indeed, since direct democracy — again, a government in which all or most laws are made by direct popular vote — would be impractical given the number and complexity of laws that pretty much any state or national government is expected to enact, it’s unsurprising that the qualifier “representative” would often be omitted. Practically speaking, representative democracy is the only democracy that’s around at any state or national level.

Now one can certainly argue that some aspects of U.S. government should become less direct, and filtered through more layers of representation. One can argue, for instance, that the 17th Amendment should be repealed, and that U.S. senators should no longer be elected directly by the people, but should return to being elected by state legislators who are elected by the people. Or one can argue for repealing state- and local-level initiative and referendum schemes. Or one can argue for making the Electoral College into a deliberative body, in which the electors are supposed to discuss the candidates and make various political deals, rather than being elected solely to vote for particular candidates. And of course one can equally argue for making some aspects of U.S. government more direct, for instance by shifting to truly direct election of the president, or by institute a federal-level initiative and referendum.

But there is no basis for saying that the United States is somehow “not a democracy, but a republic.” “Democracy” and “republic” aren’t just words that a speaker can arbitrarily define to mean something (e.g., defining democracy as “a form of government in which all laws are made directly by the people”). They are terms that have been given meaning by English speakers more broadly. And both today and in the Framing era, “democracy” has been generally understood to include representative democracy as well as direct democracy.

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Pretty powerful words - we must always remember them regardless of race or creed. It is the basis of what America is. To be otherwise diminishes the process for which it stands.

Folks - I'm a Veteran - like so many others - This is our Country - it is all we have and we must uphold it's original concepts - at all cost. Our Military men and women swear an Oath when they enlist. It goes like this;

_____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." The Oath of Office (for officers): "I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the _____ (Military Branch) of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."

Also be aware of the following:

Before you raise your right hand, make sure you understand what you are swearing or attesting to: The oath of enlistment should not be taken lightly, you will be bound by it for the next 4 to 6 years at a minimum.

This pretty powerful stuff and it is not taken lightly by those men and women who in past and present have taken this Oath as well to safeguard our Country and It's People.

These are the principles of our Service Folks. We knew when we enlisted we had one job to do and that was to protect our country at all cost. Many are in Military Graves or in local graves across our Country who were in conflicts across the globe. Today we continue to have these "War's or Conflicts" that we still fight in to this very day.

Once our enlistment is over - we are discharged back to a civilian life. It takes some time to get used to as you are not being ordered to something by others. But the teaching of the military system is now ingrained in our memories - they are there for life. We take issues to any disrespect to our Country & its Peoples even after our enlistment has ended.
We are the silent protectors in our neighborhoods - we are watchful for mistreatment - we will offer assistance without request. We are there always for our fellow American's. This is what we take with us when our tour has been completed. It never goes away. We are sensitive to proper Flag respect and those lost brother's and sister's from many wars and conflicts. We never forget the sacrifices of our comm-rads in arms. We don't forget our old soldier's and honor them all our lives. This is what an American Soldier is and always will be.

Imagine if every citizen had to take oath such as our military. Could you hold your honor for the rest of your life such as our Veterans and Enlisted soldiers do? I wonder I'd hate to think you would be less than willing to take such an oath. We don't draft any longer - I enlisted. But many others were drafted. Hard feelings for sure. Many issues between enlisted and draftee's. But during war they become Brother's and will remain that way their entire lives.

This is what America is to me. What it means to those who've never served or sacrificed I can't say. Would they be willing to help others in time of need - I think so - but a soldier will be there in a blink- its his training - its his responsibility to help his Brother's and Sister's.

This is where we sometimes have misguiding thoughts. People not in uniform helping others. Do you know any? Sure you do: Police - Firemen - or the average human being on the street at that moment in time. They jump in to the issues at hand to prevent some poor individual from being beaten to death on the street. A trained soldier is self-sacrificing and acts on instinct - learned by the military. He knows first aide - he also knows how to disarm an individual hopefully not loosing his life the process.

This is what many Civvies (those who've never been in the service) will learn over time. Soldiers don't want thanks - just to be there - if and any situation requires their action. We can save more lives this way - rather than on the battlefield where we are taking them out.

Remember your Veterans they've been to hell and back but they are brave souls these men and women of honor. Don't forget this. My family all enlisted in WWI , WWII, Korea and Vietnam - everyone is gone now - I'm the last living veteran in my family. I've got a grandson but I don't think he will enlist - he's into sports - but keeps breaking a leg or his ankles. The military will turn him down most likely from prior injuries but you never know.

Well now that I got this off my chest - keep a Veteran or a current Soldier in mind and pray for them to return to us as whole person and also prayer's go out to those we loose every day on the battlefield or our Veterans.

Boats