The Future of Democracy

Democracy "is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system." In the phrase of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people."  I've always assumed that our great democracy would always continue and I hope that it does.  However, recently I have begun to have my doubts about whether it will survive.  First there is the recent trend toward the establishment of laws by the judicial branch.  Liberal judges have begun to overturn the will of the majority and establish precedents and laws and this was not the intent of our Constitution. This will increase as more liberal judges are appointed by the new administration.  Then there is the corruption in government, especially in Washington, where elected officials have used their status to pad their pockets as well as those of their supporters.  Few appear to be patriots who put our country first.  Then there is the growing trend toward mob rule.  Look at what is happening in California with the passage of Proposition 8, a legal constitutional amendment which outlaws gay marriages in that state.  The gay activists have been orchestrating protests throughout the country over its approval by the majority of voters.  Now that is their right in a democracy,  But, they have picketed churches, especially those of the Morman faith, and they have actually been disrupting church services.  They are threatening those who supported Proposition 8.  A director of an Arts Association who had donated his money in support of the amendment had to resign since the mobs threatened to boycott the association which he had directed for many years.  They have already filed three lawsuits to reverse this constitutional amendment which was voted upon by a majority of California voters.  And, they have a good chance of winning with a liberal justice system.  They don't intend to accept the legal voice of the majority.  There had also been rumors and threats of protests and maybe even riots if Obama had lost.  A democracy can't survive when mob mentality takes over.  We have seen this type of thing happen around elections in other parts of the world, but, sadly, it is a new development here.  Democracy has survived over 200 years here because of good people.  Many were godly people, others were folks with good morality and a sense of right values.  But things are changing rapidly.  What is the future of our democracy?   Time will tell.