Persian Realm

Dear "Kaveh Nouraee",

Islamic Republic is not an oxymoron, it is a country ruled by a the religious oligarchy, people's impact is given by the clergy which is also a part of the people. Also East Germany was a republic ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.

And your reasons say exactly why the terms Republic and Democracy can´t be compared. These commands and orders make the republic. Sometime these commands and orders are made by the ruling power, sometimes these commands and orders are made by the people. And then we have the two opposites Dictatorship and Parliamentary Democracy.

MiNeum

Islamic Republic is an oxymoron, as the two concepts can't be reconciled. Religion in and of itself is dictatorial, as virtually all religious text is filled with commands and orders, compelling adherents to "do this" and "abstain from that".

And in the case of Iran, the people's impact on the ruling clergy is superficial at best. The clergy decides upon the "choices" that the people will have.

America is NOT a democracy!

I stopped one minute into this clip. This seems like a reject from the archives of Voice of America which even VOA would have the good sense to spare the potential viewers its humdrum humbug. This clip is more like a film an immigration service might show to some doe-eyed immigrants who can barely speak the English language but must undergo the indoctrination nonetheless.
The use of the word 'Americanism' is quite disturbing. This was a catchphrase used in the early 2oth century America by jingoistic groups & the KKK. The truth is that America's roots are deeply mired in genocidal wars of conquest that raged on for 300 years until the indigenous people were extirpated, their remnants relegated to the Reservation confinements. America is the product of this brutal conquest. That venerable piece of crap, the American Constitution, was framed by bunch of wealthy white Anglo-Saxon slave-owners who, according to an expert in the field, Paul Finkelman, framed it in such a way that the US government would have no authority whatsoever to annul slavery. That is why 19th century abolitionists, called the American Constitution an 'agreement with Hell' I have never seen a people as powerless as Americans who are fed a daily dose of 'Americanism' & democracy, but never ask the simple question that if America is truly a democracy why 1% of Americans own 50% of all wealth in America. Surely, a representative government would see to equitable distribution of the national wealth, right? The truth is that America has been a plutocratic police state from day one . The Bush era surveillance and wiretapping of Americans without court order is nothing new. Jules Boycoff (Suppression of Dissent) narrates the FBI persecution of dissent in America, especially those fighting racism in America such as Dr. King who was of course assassinated with the complicity of the FBI & Hoover.
The so-called American republic owes its inception to the so-called founding fathers who used the Roman Republic as a model. The Roman Republic had yearly elections for the various offices of the magistrates such as aediles, praetors, quaesters, consuls. The Americans changed the duration of offices to 4 or more years. The Roman Republic did not allow a standing army and stipulated that all commander upon return to Rome would have to disband & disarm their army. No Roman commander was allowed to enter Rome armed. But as Romans were seduced more and more by the imperial voices amongst them, the standing armies became the norm by the 1st century BC. That is when the military commanders such as Sulla, his lieutenants, Crassus & Pompey, and, later, Julius Caesar, formed their dictatorships, inevitable rivalries, and the eventual descent into the Civil War which terminated the Roman Republic. This pattern is detectable in America today and my prediction is the dissolution of the American Republic might come about in a not too distant future for the simple reason that militarism & imperialism are poisonous to liberty & democracy-, thanks to the neo-cons, Bush and Cheney & co.

Dear "Darius",

Students of Political Sciences learn the differences between Democracy and Republic latest in the second year. The definitions used in this documentary prove the lack of political knowledge (even not good enough for a homework in an undergratuade school).

Comparing Democracy and Republic is like comparing apples and oranges. Democracy is a form of government, Republic is a form of country/state.

A Democracy is always a Republic and can only exist because of the bills which are carried by elected members of the parliament and which make people to observe the public order. But also Oligarchies (and some Dictatorships) are Republics (example for a Religious Republic: Islamic Republic of Iran, at least a part of its people have an impact on the ruling clergy).

In the USA you have a Representative Democracy with a primacy of Oligarchy (lobbies) over Democracy, in Europe you have many Parliamentary (Constitutional) Democracies.