Probably every schoolchild before the current generation knew better than to make the mistake of calling the U.S. a democracy.
“Republic. I like the sound of the word. It means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose. Some words give you a feeling. Republic is one of those words that makes me tight in the throat — the same tightness a man gets when his baby takes his first step or his first baby shaves and makes his first sound as a man. Some words can give you a feeling that makes your heart warm. Republic is one of those words.”
— John Wayne as Col. Davy Crockett in The Alamo (1960)
Both John + Davy were great Americans. Davy had guts. Both against Santa Anna and against Ol Hickory! As “Commodore” Ford said 53 of so years ago ,”John was a coward, but the best actor he ever directed”.
And since it doesn’t mean having having every particle of your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness magnanimously dribbled out to you by a coldly maternalistic government, it’s hatespeech.