The greatest threat of all to freedom is democracy. Democracy gives legitimacy to despots. It provides cover for abuse or overreach of power. People do not easily submit to infringements on their liberties by force, but they may willingly relinquish freedom if they believe it sanctioned by the democratic process. Unfortunately, this is not well understood today.
The U.S. Constitution is designed to protect the rights of individuals, and our republic, from democracy. This is one the reason the word “democracy” does not appear in either the Constitution or in the Declaration of Independence.
Very, very true! The founders had the whole of history to choose from. Their writings allow us to know they read and sampled every government archetype known. That they chose a self-regulating republic and very specifically not a democracy is an indicator that they wanted their creation to last.