How much strife could have been avoided if James Madison actually understood what the term "Republic" meant?

ErickC wrote: Sun Apr 27, 2025 9:16 pm How much strife could have been avoided if James Madison actually understood what the term "Republic" meant?

Keep going. I'm curious about the rest of this idea.

losthighway wrote: Sun Apr 27, 2025 10:05 pm

ErickC wrote: Sun Apr 27, 2025 9:16 pm How much strife could have been avoided if James Madison actually understood what the term "Republic" meant?

Keep going. I'm curious about the rest of this idea.

When James Madison wrote "A Republic, and not a Democracy," what he really meant was "A Constitutional Republic with Representative Democracy, and not Direct Democracy." Contrasting a republic and a democracy is a literal non-sequitur; the only alternative to a republic is a monarchy. Either a republic or a monarchy might be a democracy or it might not be (see: total monarchy, autocratic republic, et c.), but if your sovereignty is vested in the public and not a monarch passed on by inheritance, then you live in a republic. There are edge cases, some monarchies elect their monarchs (see: the Vatican), and some republics function more like monarchies (see: North Korea), but edge cases are edge cases.

This was generally understood even in Madison's time; the Commonwealth of England under the Cromwell government (no monarch, he be killded) was quite explicitly established as a republic and discourse throughout the centuries that followed used the same convention that political scientists use today, although it should be noted that direct democracy and republic were used pretty much interchangeably until the American revolution. Thus John Adams made the distinction between direct democracy and representative democracy in 1787. No problem, we had to make a distinction, so we made one, our republic is different, it uses a new kind of democracy. Then James Madison, whose ideas were otherwise good*, decided to fuck it all up, and people spout "tHe Us iS a RePUbLiC, NOt A DeMOcRaCY" to this day, and the losers at the Heritage Foundation use it as political drivel to drive the mosquito-brained masses into the neon light of voting away their own hard-earned representation.

Not all democracies are republics. Not all republics are democracies. Some are both. Some are neither.

*I mean, why would we protect minorities, amirite?

ErickC wrote: Sun Apr 27, 2025 11:05 pm and people spout "tHe Us iS a RePUbLiC, NOt A DeMOcRaCY" to this day, and the losers at the Heritage Foundation use it as political drivel to drive the mosquito-brained masses into the neon light of voting away their own hard-earned representation.

Shit yeah they do. Good stuff here, thanks for taking the time. I didn't realize Madison was at the root of this popular misunderstanding.

rsmurphy wrote: Sun Apr 27, 2025 3:34 pm

jimmy spako wrote: Sun Apr 27, 2025 3:25 pm Don't forget your great-great-grandmother (ginoromous mama).

My great-aunt was Marcella Cowart. She was Aunt Teeny!

Everyone called my great grandmother Mama. If someone called her Big Mama, they’d probably get backhanded. I called my maternal grandmother Mawmaw and my paternal grandmother E-mom.

Dave N. wrote: Mon Apr 28, 2025 7:27 am I called my maternal grandmother Mawmaw and my paternal grandmother E-mom.

I assumed all southerners called their maternal grandmothers meemaw. Is that racist?

rsmurphy wrote: Mon Apr 28, 2025 10:00 am

Dave N. wrote: Mon Apr 28, 2025 7:27 am I called my maternal grandmother Mawmaw and my paternal grandmother E-mom.

I assumed all southerners called their maternal grandmothers meemaw. Is that racist?

I think it varies a bit by region. My maternal grandmother was from Lafayette Louisiana. Mawmaw is pretty common around there.


We called my grandfather Papoo

Banana pudding ice cream sandwich

Hope all of youse in the upper Midwest stay safe tonight. Keep an NWS tab open, eh?

The alchemy that happens during the chorus of "Ease on Down the Road." How does a succession of notes and chords translate into joyful inspiration and encouragement? It's a wonderful amalgamation of gospel, philly soul, and disco, but what are the things that make those things into what they are? Specifically the arrangement that happens behind "Don't you carry nothin' that might be a load" is so soul-stirring, like, how does that happen? Music tapping into spirituality and the essence of what makes one human. It's a genuine gift to be able to move someone via the formulation of sound into a song.