These are days in which we are witnessing a mass shift in behavioral and belief systems. Cultural demands are causing a major movement toward the acceptance of certain beliefs and behaviors that at one time were viewed as totally unacceptable. These shifts are causing enormous inroads of erosion in political, philosophical, societal, and theological systems which were at one time held to be solidly grounded upon a strong foundation of accepted beliefs. Granted, when a belief is found to be erroneous, then it should be changed to meet the new-found data which warrants the change. But, as the old adage goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

That old line of reasoning seems to have been discarded, with the acceptable new adage being, “if it ain’t broke, fix it anyway”, Or, even worse, “if it ain’t broke, break it, then fix it any way you like”. This last statement seems to be the common mode of operation among many today. Let’s give this observation some thought.

If you were to be asked what form of government the United States was founded upon, how would you answer? Wikipedia lists 35 different forms of government in the world today. However, there are three different terms that are used to describe the United States’ form of government, according to whom you may ask. Are we a democracy? Or are we a democratic republic? Or are we a federal constitutional republic? Let’s consider a brief definition of each of these terms.

First, a democratic form of government is one which is governed by the people. They exercise this supreme power either directly or indirectly, through elected officials. There are two main lines of democracy: direct democracy in which the people directly decide on any legislative decisions, or representative democracy, in which they elect officials to make decisions on their behalf, and according to their wishes.

Second, a democratic republic is a form of government that has elements of democracy and republicanism. It is in this form of government that power is held by the people, who then exercise their authority through elected representatives who cast their votes and make their decisions based on the will of their constituency. This form of government allows the people to have a voice and to personally participate in the decision-making processes that affect them, personally, and their communities, collectively.

And third, a bit different than the democratic republic, is the federal constitutional republic. In this form of government, power is divided between a national government, individual state governments, with the government operating under the dictates of a constitution that serves to protect individual rights. This form of government also brings into play certain elements of democracy in that individual citizens have the opportunity to influence government decisions through their ability to vote in elections, and also a republic, where their elected officials govern.

The United States has historically been defined by the federal constitutional republic. I say historically because in recent years it seems that we are struggling, as a nation, in deciding what form of government we actually are. Those who are presently fighting tenaciously to lead us to become governed by socialism are causing confusion among their constituents by introducing political platforms that are a far cry from anything that has ever been witnessed in this country. They are casting aside all historical precedents in order to start with a fresh, clean slate. By doing this, they are opening the doors to political policies and practices that are completely foreign to anything that has ever been part of the American political landscape.

Grandiose promises are made, with the hopes that these promises will compel voters to go to the voting precincts to cast their votes in favor of a political system that has proven to be disastrous in most of the countries in which it has been tried. As President Ronald Reagan stated so powerfully, “Socialism works only in heaven, where it isn’t needed, and in hell, where they’ve already got it.” And Margaret Thatcher’s famous remark, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

The United States has operated successfully in all of its storied history as a federal constitutional republic. There are those who say it is a broken system that needs to be discarded. Others say it has some broken parts that need to be repaired. And still others who are demanding that it be dismantled completely and replaced with a socialist form of government. Those in this last category are striving to do this by rewriting our nation’s history, by destroying all vestiges of all historical markers of our past, and by introducing an entirely different system of national government.

For what it’s worth, my suggestion is that we identify those areas that do need reform, that we learn from our past, that we make necessary changes to solve the problem areas, and that we vote out those who would have the United States of America discard all of our history, all of our successes, all of our founding fathers dreams, visions and aspirations, to become what the vast majority of us DO NOT WANT. Those that would rather live under the political and governmental umbrella of a socialist country – well, they have plenty of other places to live. Instead of coming here and trying to change us, why not go back where you came from. If the form of government there was what you want, don’t try to impose it on us.

And, if our form of government is what you want, then we welcome you with open arms. Come, be one of us, assimilate into our way of life, but don’t come with the agenda of imposing your way of life on us. We like who we are, and plan to maintain what we have.