Reply #14: Democracy is tyranny only in its most basic manifestation

[brindis_desala]

It more usually describes a political system where the legitimacy of exercising power stems from the consent of the people. That basis is what allows for the existence of constitutional government in which the power of the leaders is checked and restrained; representative institutions based on free elections, which provide a procedural framework for the delegation of power by the people; competitive parties, in which the ruling majority respects and guarantees the rights of minorities; and civil liberties, such as freedoms of speech, press, association, and religion.

But strictly speaking the U.S. is a Democratic Republic since the executive is chosen not by the people but its Electoral College an arcane and anti-democratic institution that makes a mockery of one person one vote.