Looked up a couple terms to get clear….

Democracy – 1. government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives. 2. a political or social unit based on democratic rule. 3. The common people, esp., as the primary source of political power. 4. Rule by the majority. 5. The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.

Republic – 1. a political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in modern times is usually a president. 2. a political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them. … 4. A group of people working as equals in the same sphere or field.

They’re really close aren’t they – the only main difference being who really has the power. It SEEMS, according to these definitions, that in a democracy, the people have the power, and in a republic, a specific group of citizens have the power. And yes, the U.S. *IS* a republic right now. Will getting rid of the electoral college make us a democracy? As things stand right now, if BUSH wins the election, it will be through the electoral college – a Republican wins if we do it the Republican way. And if GORE wins the election, it will be through the popular vote – a Democrat wins if we do it the Democratic way. Even if the Florida vote is discounted completely, and Congress gets to pick, it’s a Republican Congress right now.

Lots of people talk about conspiracy theories or of the government basically being run by one elite group of people (hmm – Clinton is pres., Gore is V.P., Hillary’s now a senator, Bush WAS pres., Bush Jr. is TRYING to be pres., Jeb Bush is gov. of FLORIDA, Gore is TRYING to be pres….) – certainly DOES seem like a “republic” at times, eh?

But the BIG picture here, as I’m seeing it, is the symbolic meaning. Talk about taking back your power in a ‘conscious creation’ sense of things – which form of government do you feel matches YOU best? And it doesn’t even have to be either of the two mentioned above, (and I wouldn’t necessarily use the current candidates as ideal examples for either party – LOL – or maybe they ARE – heh heh) For me personally, it’s a symbolic waking up. It’s an opportunity to look at what IS and then use it as a contrast or jumping off point to look inside myself and see what I would prefer to create in my reality.

I also look at ‘majority’ this way – the more I accept my own power to create, the more the ‘majority’ (in my space continuum, of course) aligns with MY choices. All quite symbolic and ‘life is a mirror’-ific, ain’t it. Anyway – this is what all the election bru-ha-ha has got me thinking about – just thought I’d share that. 🙂 I know there are a zillion different ways to look at or anaylze the situation – this is just one more.