But a democracy that isn't based on human rights gives you no guarantee that you will not be stripped naked and send running down the street with a pole up your ass if that suits the majority...

No seriously, if a democracy is not based on individual rights then what is to stop the majority from making a minority servants? A Danish newspaper editor has actually used that as an example of what he considers misunderstood democracy - when he was living in student housing the common facilities (kitchen and living room) were shared by 15 students. So it was "democratically" decided that all cleaning would be done by the seven who had been living there the shortest time. Democratic? - not in my book, obviously these students weren't equal, and the effect was that those who had been there the longest time tended to stay, whereas new people quite quickly moved somewhere else.

The point that I have been trying to make is that a democracy does not work if the members of it are afraid to express their views - and unless democracy is connected with individual civil rights they will be. That is why every democratic or republican constitution that I know of has an institution that is able to keep a check on the actions of Parliament - usually some sort of surpreme court. To make sure that the rights of individuals are not violated.

qanatoli