Re:UK? Icleand? Greece? (Score 1)

well.. I'm not going to go into the divine right's thing. However, it is vertainly not true that 'democracy' is defined by the term you give, (voting and voter control). these are actually more or less the defining caracteristics of a Republic. (and yes, the US is a Republic, and has been for quite a while) In the category of Republics, the US is far superceeded by the Athens of socrates, where the abovementioned conditions certainly applied. For a Democracy however, it is necessary for all those who are considered sound of mind, and responsible for their actions, (i.e. sane adults) to participate in the political process.. be it voting or standing for office. (the fact that law requires a President to be 35 already makes this untrue, and in practice, no man or woman in the US without very substantial holdings can ever become president. Therefor , The US is a Republic, wherein those who are rich can stand for office, (and if over 35 also for president), while all those registered to vote (i.e. not everybody!!!) can vote. (in most countries in Europe, no registering is necessary, upon reaching the age of 18, you are automatically eligable to vote)