{"id":1349,"date":"2020-10-12T13:56:58","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T17:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americancompass.beckandstone.com\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/"},"modified":"2022-11-07T16:06:57","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T21:06:57","slug":"republicans-democrats-and-definitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans, Democrats, and Definitions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Anyone who cannot stand the phrase, \u201cActually, America is a republic,\u201d had best stop reading now. This post is not for you. Except ye be converted, and become as little children, delighted with hearing things again and again, you had better move along and let me preach to the choir. I\u2019m not actually going to repeat the phrase, but it is the essence of the thing. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teacher\u2019s pets across the nation got mad online at Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah) last Thursday, when <\/span>in a tweet he observed<\/span><\/a> of the American experiment: \u201cDemocracy isn\u2019t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity [sic] are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.\u201d It is not a perfect tweet, by any means. There\u2019s the typo, to start, which suggests with its out-of-place f an old-fashioned block printer\u2019s lisp, a \u201clong s\u201d replacing an r. And \u201cthe human condition\u201d is a bit ambiguous, but more on that later. The tweet is not \u201c<\/span>fascism<\/span><\/a>,\u201d though. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reactions to the statement were only saved by being insincere political jabs, because insofar as any responses represented real reflection and applied thought they suggested a collective wattage so low you couldn\u2019t decorate a Christmas tree with all those bulbs, let alone shed any light on an issue. One trusts many of them were playing dumb on purpose, for the benefit of a public they think very lowly of. Accusing Michael Shumway Lee of being a fascist is a bit like trying to magnetize zinc: you should know better, and the charge won\u2019t stick.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The claims implicit or explicit in the condemnation of the senator\u2019s tweet were threefold: one, that democracy <\/span>is<\/span><\/i> the objective; two, that liberty, peace, and prosperity aren\u2019t; and, three, that \u201crank democracy\u201d can\u2019t thwart anything good. This is to say, to put the smartest most charitable spin on it, those who were accusing Lee of fascism or trending toward tyranny believe the maintenance of a regime they call \u201cdemocracy\u201d is the end of politics, for, presumably, it allows \u201cthe human condition to flourish.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being an American opposed to what Lee had to say is a bit troublesome, though, since the gist of it is straight out of the Declaration of Independence. A refresher: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s translate Sen. Lee\u2019s tweet into the language of the Declaration. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee wrote, \u201cDemocracy isn\u2019t the objective,\u201d and Jefferson wrote, \u201cTo secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.\u201d Rights are the objective, apparently, and forms of government, such as democracy, are the means to this end. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are these rights, that appear to be the objective of political life? Lee: \u201cliberty, peace, and prospefity.\u201d Jefferson: \u201camong these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.\u201d The relationship here is not difficult. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Lee says that \u201cWe want the human condition to flourish.\u201d This is not exactly clear language, but it seems the Declaration can provide some insight, for this most-famous paragraph begins with an account of the fundamental status of human beings: \u201cWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Lee wrote that \u201cRank democracy can thwart\u201d this flourishing of human persons. These are fighting words, for democracy is good, right? But Jefferson, too, acknowledges that the goodness of any political arrangement depends on its relationship to the real objectives of political life, when he wrote, \u201cwhenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee and Jefferson appear to be in agreement. But there is one line from the Declaration that does not have a corresponding phrase in Lee\u2019s tweet, and it is this absence from which the main controversy stems. The Declaration of Independence says that \u201cgovernments are instituted among men, <\/span>deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.<\/span><\/i>\u201d For a Republican, and republican, like Lee, the consent of the governed is implicit in the liberty guaranteed by a good form of government; the consent of the governed is consent <\/span>to be<\/span><\/i> governed\u2014the endorsement of any particular arrangement as being conducive to the protection of unalienable rights and thus to flourishing. Democrats, however, advocate an enthusiastic consent of participation. \u201cConsent of the governed\u201d is, to them, democracy in action, so that democracy has become the hinge on which all the rest of it hangs. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All political action\u2014and speech is political action, the preponderant one in our civilization\u2014is guided by thought of better and worse. That is, it is directed toward the good, especially the good life or the good society, guided by prudence. What we have here is a fight over the purpose of government and so a fight over opinions about the purpose of human beings. The senator presumably has some idea of what the \u201chuman condition\u201d\u2014an infelicitous wording, since that\u2019s usually a negative reference to sinful fallenness or existential thrownness\u2014looks like when it\u2019s flourishing. So, too, do the dim bulbs condemning him. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But their fixation on the terms \u201cdemocracy\u201d and \u201cfascism,\u201d so prevalent to our public \u201cdebates,\u201d does not mean they are working with fixed definitions. What we have is misology, the destruction of moral discourse. Instead of deliberation over the good itself, or justice itself, we play a power game with terms redefined at will by political elites: \u201cdemocracy is what I like, fascism what I dislike.\u201d To invoke and monopolize \u201cdemocracy\u201d as equivalent to the \u201cconsent of the governed\u201d is in a sense to cheat; it has had incalculable effects on our civic life, outlawing most of our country\u2019s past and attempting to outlaw many in the present.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone who cannot stand the phrase, \u201cActually, America is a republic,\u201d had best stop reading now. This post is not for you. Except ye be converted, and become as little Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":1350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[79,29],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRepublicans, Democrats, and Definitions - American Compass<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Republicans, Democrats, and Definitions - American Compass\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Anyone who cannot stand the phrase, \u201cActually, America is a republic,\u201d had best stop reading now. This post is not for you. Except ye be converted, and become as little Read more...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Compass\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmerCompass\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-12T17:56:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-07T21:06:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/AdobeStock_139446733-scaled-1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Micah Meadowcroft\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Micaheadowcroft\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AmerCompass\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Micah Meadowcroft\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Micah Meadowcroft\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#\/schema\/person\/91e7a0dd092a13e10d77ec5b1ced398b\"},\"headline\":\"Republicans, Democrats, and Definitions\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-12T17:56:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-07T21:06:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/\"},\"wordCount\":1116,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Political Philosophy\",\"Understanding America\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/\",\"name\":\"Republicans, Democrats, and Definitions - American Compass\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-12T17:56:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-07T21:06:57+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Compass\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"American Compass\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/logo.svg\",\"caption\":\"American Compass\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmerCompass\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmerCompass\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#\/schema\/person\/91e7a0dd092a13e10d77ec5b1ced398b\",\"name\":\"Micah Meadowcroft\",\"description\":\"Micah Meadowcroft is the managing editor of The American Conservative. His essays and criticism have appeared in publications such as The New Atlantis, Wall Street Journal, and American Affairs.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Micaheadowcroft\",\"americancomp\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Republicans, Democrats, and Definitions - American Compass","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Republicans, Democrats, and Definitions - American Compass","og_description":"Anyone who cannot stand the phrase, \u201cActually, America is a republic,\u201d had best stop reading now. This post is not for you. Except ye be converted, and become as little Read more...","og_url":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/","og_site_name":"American Compass","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmerCompass\/","article_published_time":"2020-10-12T17:56:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-11-07T21:06:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/AdobeStock_139446733-scaled-1.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Micah Meadowcroft","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Micaheadowcroft","twitter_site":"@AmerCompass","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Micah Meadowcroft","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/"},"author":{"name":"Micah Meadowcroft","@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#\/schema\/person\/91e7a0dd092a13e10d77ec5b1ced398b"},"headline":"Republicans, Democrats, and Definitions","datePublished":"2020-10-12T17:56:58+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-07T21:06:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/"},"wordCount":1116,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["Political Philosophy","Understanding America"],"articleSection":["Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/","url":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/","name":"Republicans, Democrats, and Definitions - American Compass","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-10-12T17:56:58+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-07T21:06:57+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/americancompass.org\/republicans-democrats-and-definitions\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/","name":"American Compass","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#organization","name":"American Compass","url":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/logo.svg","caption":"American Compass"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmerCompass\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmerCompass"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/#\/schema\/person\/91e7a0dd092a13e10d77ec5b1ced398b","name":"Micah Meadowcroft","description":"Micah Meadowcroft is the managing editor of The American Conservative. His essays and criticism have appeared in publications such as The New Atlantis, Wall Street Journal, and American Affairs.","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/Micaheadowcroft","americancomp"]}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/AdobeStock_139446733-scaled-1.jpeg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1349"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1349"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8167,"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1349\/revisions\/8167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americancompass.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}