Category: Uncategorized

People ask me why I write the things I do. Some people say I’m just wasting my time. Some people say I am just poking a bear. Let me clarify.

I write first and foremost because writing helps me clarify my own thoughts. There are things that I had believed for years, and thought I knew why I believed them. When I tried to write out my argument, I realized that I was wrong.

I also usually have to do a bit of research to write. Which means I am learning more about the topic, or ancillary topics as I go. I like learning.

Writing is not a waste of time to me, even if no one else reads what I write. Writing makes me a better, more informed person.

I also write because my ideas are different from those that I hear elsewhere. Sometimes I come to the same conclusion as other people, but I usually have different reasons for it. And I really hope that my ideas will help other people understand their beliefs.

I hope that other people, when reading what I write, will learn another way to view the world. I hope that my arguments will help people who agree with me to be more confident of their beliefs, and to have more solid arguments to support their beliefs.

I hope that those who disagree with me will challenge my ideas. I hope that they will engage in a constructive exchange of ideas, and that we both come away from it more capable of understanding each other, even if neither of us changes our mind.

I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. I don’t even want everyone to agree with me. I’m not writing in order to poke the bear, but I have to admit, I like the battle. I like mental challenge of defending my point of view. And I sometimes take a guilty pleasure in some of the outraged responses I get.

But I write what I mean, and really appreciate everyone who reads and comments on the things that I have to say.

Let’s get a little rhetorical matter out of the way.  You may have heard it said that the United States is not a democracy, but a republic.  What is the difference between a democracy and a republic?

The term “democracy” is fairly straight forward – a system of government which functions according to the will of the majority.  In other words, a democracy is a system where the people vote, and the winners of the vote get their way.  In most (perhaps all) countries with elected governments, laws are passed not by the people but by the representatives that the people choose.  This is called a “representative” government, and it is generally considered to be a form of democracy.

So what is a republic?  That is a trickier question, and you will likely find a different answer from each source you consult.  Typically “republic” is thought to be synonymous with “representative democracy”.  Alternately “republic” means a democracy (representative or not) with constraints to protect the individual liberty of the citizens.

In reference to the United States, we might use the the following definition for Republic:

A representative democracy constrained by a written constitution which defines a limited number of natural rights, and acknowledges the existence of other inviolable naturals rights.

In modern usage, the two terms are used interchangeably by most english speakers.