Pulling at the Constitution

It’s a popular online meme: “We don’t live in a democracy—we live in a Constitutional Republic.” Technically, this is true, but it’s also disturbingly misleading. A Constitutional Republic is a form of democracy, but with guardrails.

The sentiment driving that online meme probably comes from James Madison, who warned in Federalist No. 10 about the dangers of mob rule in a “pure” or direct democracy. But contrary to what many people might believe, Madison didn’t reject democracy at all. He believed in it and designed a system to protect it. He advocated for a republic that channels public will through elected representatives and tempers it with checks, balances, and constitutional rights.

What Madison and the other founders feared wasn’t the people; it was unchecked power, whether from kings, mobs, or even elected leaders. That’s why he and our founding fathers built a system where government would serve the people but never overpower them.

And here’s the key: that system only works when trust flows in both directions. Citizens must trust their government to uphold the Constitution, and the government must trust the people to engage peacefully and thoughtfully in civic life. When that trust breaks down—when the government begins to fear or control the public instead of listening to it—the system begins to crack.

That’s what we’re seeing now. President Trump recently warned that protesters at his upcoming military parade would be “met with very big force.” He also pushed to criminalize the wearing of masks at demonstrations. These moves aren’t about public safety; they’re about suppressing dissent. They reveal a government that no longer trusts its people and seeks to dominate them.

When trust is replaced by coercion, democracy dies. The danger compounds when people parrot the claim that “we’re not a democracy,” because it excuses authoritarian behavior as somehow consistent with our system of government. It’s not. Far from it.

We are a democracy. Not a direct one, but one where power still flows from the people. That’s the core of our Constitutional Republic. And if we let trust erode and let fear replace consent, we risk losing the very foundation that keeps this country free.