Exactly , which is why you should show people evidence . Contrary to whatever your drug is telling you , not every website is on whatever gate is popular right now . So , proof pls . <| sep |> There are many separate single hairs , but we call it HAIR when we talk about that mess on my head . There are many separate lego pieces , but when we talk about that mess on the floor we call it LEGO . <| sep |> You ' re restricting the definition of democracy more narrowly than warranted . Democracy just means that the citizens exercise power over the government , the details of how they exercise that power varies widely . In the United States ' case it ' s mostly done by electing representatives , though some states also have ballot initiatives that allow some direct decisionmaking to be done by popular vote . A republic can be democratic . Its strict definition actually requires it , though the term is used very loosely in practice lots of countries claim to be republics without having even the trappings of an actual republic . The definition of republic doesn ' t imply anything about inalienable rights , I ' m not sure what relevance that has here . The question of what inalienable rights people have is largely separate from the form a government takes .