There are certain concepts in modern America that are widely accepted as fact but are a fiction promoted by those who crave power over our lives. Perhaps the biggest and most popular of these is the belief that we live in a democracy.
Democracy is one of many forms of government devised by man throughout the ages. It is like communism in one particular, both can only exist in its pure form in small groups. Simply stated, democracy is one person, one vote, on every issue, majority rules. In a democracy there are no true leaders because every adult individual as a group decides what is to be done. Instead of a leader, a true democracy would only have a Moderator, Parliamentarian, or First Speaker to oversee the democratic process, not lead the people.
Every issue is voted on by the whole group and the view point with the most supporters prevails. Even in modern times with a thoroughly educated electorate and advanced technology, true democracy is still impossible. And would be undesirable if it were possible.
When the idea of democracy is philosophically raised to a high level of reverence, the majority opinion magically becomes the correct, morally right opinion. Wrong can be declared Right simply because the majority of the voters agree. By its very nature, a democracy represses minority opinion and those that hold that opinion. Minorities have very little freedom in a true democracy. The best metaphor ever invented to describe a democracy is "Two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for dinner."
Most of the founders of this nation believed Democracy to be a particularly vile form of government for the reason that it does nothing to protect those in the minority. People who practice "odd" religions, who speak differently, who love the "wrong" people, who are from other countries, or people who just think different from the majority are not protected or even preserved in a democracy. Diversity is quashed.
This nation's government isn't any kind of democracy, it is based on representation and limited by a document called a Constitution. Correctly stated, our form of government is: A Constitutional Republic, with its Representatives democratically elected. All that comes after the comma only defines how our Constitutional Republic is implemented.
All that America has and holds dear and the level of diversity we enjoy is made possible, not by democracy but, because we are a Constitutional Republic. This form of government protects the equal rights of all Americans in words and in principle, even when the application of this principle is subverted by power-hungry politicians.
The United States of America is not a Democracy. And if you are part of one or more minorities, you don't want it to be.