The curse of democracy is the acquired habit of following a crowd in whatever foolish direction it moves, whether it be watching "American Idol" or marching to hang some unruly slave. The difference between justice and a lynch mob must rest with each one of us, with our unwavering belief that goodness must prevail over evil ("...surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life").
Yet, if we always submit to authority, accepting all manner of lies and deceptions which a corrupt administration proposes, then we fail in our civic duty. "A decent regard for the opinions of mankind" is not the same as a slavish disposition to believe everything we hear. God (or for you pagans, Prometheus) has given mankind reason and we are expected to use it. Moral judgment requires both a standard of good behavior, and the willingness to act when we find the boundaries which separate us from barbarism have been crossed. Otherwise, the res publica of our fathers surely degenerates into a confederacy of dunces, a pliant herd of bovines that are easily led from one poor pasture to another.
Emerson was right to place moral accountability on individuals because that is where it belongs. In the long run, if we as individuals fail to live up to, as Abraham Lincoln put it, the "better angels of our nature," then we can scarcely expect our neighbors or our government to do better.
"Domine dirige nos"