Marriage issue reflects indirect democracy

As I read the Feb. 10 story headlined, “Marriage in Iowa isn't up for debate,” I realized that many people, including - incredibly - some of our own state legislators, do not understand that the American republic is based upon indirect, not direct, democracy.

We do not vote directly on issues; we elect leaders who then vote on issues. America's Founding Fathers created this system to protect against what they called “the passions of the mob.” Our nation's founders were concerned that the mass of ordinary citizens, “stimulated by some irregular passion or misled by artful representations,” were prone to hysteria, and needed to be kept in check.

James Madison wrote, “In Republics, the great danger is that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority.”

An interesting article on this topic appeared recently in New York magazine titled “Is Democracy Killing Democracy?” - tinyurl.com/yhygm4c.

The article also points out that the recent populist, anti-elitist movement has the potential to harm our country because it is important to choose extraordinarily competent people - elites - whether you are hiring them to play football, perform brain surgery, pilot the jet you are traveling on, or sit in the Oval Office.

Sarah Palin, for example, has many fine qualities but extraordinary competence (or even just “knowing stuff”) is not one of them. And too much democracy and too little elite wisdom has crippled California.

Jenny Rutafan

Cedar Rapids