Larry argues that humans are rational animals because they speak, and speech is what makes them rational and intelligent beings or intelligent animals. These animals speak of pleasure and pain, of what is just and unjust. The Declaration of Independence declares that all are created equal so none can rule us, without our consent, let alone ever enslave us.
Larry points out that none can rule us without our consent--we give them permission to rule us, and our consent is our social contract. We have a representative and federal government here but the ultimate arbiter is the people that express themselves through a constitutional majority, although they do not rule themselves directly.
Larry argues against pure, direct democracy to prevent majority rule from becoming tyrannical. The Founders offered representative government instead where legislators, ruled by reason through discussion, talk things through, and deliberating, before passing a bad law. We do not want to be ruled by our passions, so the bicameral Congress was intended to slow things down.
Ideally, under the constitutional republic, we control the government as voters while it protects our freedom.
We have moved a long way away from this optimistic, beginning arrangement.
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