Professor Williams has this to say about our ‘democracy’ -

We often hear the claim that our nation is a democracy. That wasn’t the vision of the founders. They saw democracy as another form of tyranny. If we’ve become a democracy, I guarantee you that the founders would be deeply disappointed by our betrayal of their vision. The founders intended, and laid out the ground rules, for our nation to be a republic.

You can read the rest of Professor William’s essay at his website

I must admit that I sometimes use these words interchangably. I do know the difference, and much prefer our republic to the inevitable chaos of a true democracy.