Jefferson on the occasion of a minor rebellion:
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."


John Adams:
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."


And on, and on, and on.

The choice to make the US a republic rather than a democracy was carefully considered and hardly accidental. A good part of our Constitution is meant to protect us from the evils of centralized government.

Cheers,
Ben