Here are two headlines that have run, that are representative of millions of headlines

that have run over the last, oh, I don't know, month or so, but, you know, more broadly

the last four years.

This first one is from CNN politics, Trump undercuts American democracy as he clings to

power.

That's the first headline.

On the Guardian, Donald Trump is still busy trying to bulldoze democracy.

Donald Trump riding a bulldozer over American democracy and this trope, this phrase that

our democracy is under threat, that we have, you know, that democracy is going to be destroyed

by this unblushing autocrat in the White House is something that has become kind of

a mainstay of our political commentary, this idea that we're in danger of losing, you

know, the systems and ways of governing ourselves that we hold to dear.

Now, I pride myself on this show in having given you a slightly longer view thus far and

a deep review of what our system actually is.

One remarkable thing that I haven't noted yet is that the word democracy actually doesn't

occur in our constitution and I am not by far not the first to remark to you that America

is not a democracy.

America is a republic that is a representative government having a tri-partite structure.

Those three parts are again representative of the three sort of basic forms of government

which are monarchy aristocracy and democracy.

Democracy is the voting part, that's the people.

The aristocracy is the kind of elites and you might think of that in terms of our Congress

...