only essentially un-American, but it is essentially
undemocratic. A democracy means a government by public opinion, and this
opinion is the result of the co-operative impulse or community feeling
of the people of a free country--a people who are given the opportunity
to think for themselves, and are not thought for by a divinely
constituted government. As Thomas Jefferson maintained, liberty is not a
privilege granted by a government, but government is a responsibility
delegated to its officers by the people. "On this distinction hangs all
the philosophy of democracy."[5] The people must decide questions for
themselves and make their common will known through the representative
organs of a government which is after all only the instrument intended
to produce the best expression and administration of this public will.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 5: David Saville Muzzey, _Thomas Jefferson_, p. 311.
"Generally speaking, one may say of the German soldier that he is
normally good-natured and is not disposed to do injury to harmless
people, so long as he finds no obstacles put in his prescribed way.
But once disturbed, he becomes frightful, because he lacks any
higher capacity of discrimination; because he merely does his duty
and recognizes no such thing as individual conscience and, besides,
when he is excited becomes at once blind and super-nervous." "The
Germans are, indeed, a good-natured people, born to blind obedience
and humble willingness to let others do their thinking for them."
Wilhelm M