Do We Even Know?

“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner” – James Bovard

I have been wondering if “we the people” know the difference between a democracy and a republic. And likewise the difference between a democratic-republic.
Also, as I realize how ambiguous the word “change” can be, I’d like to know what that change entails. What are we going to change and how? And why? “Change…hope… and progress” are powerful words as we all apply and imply our own definitions and reactants. We are hiring a president, not a poet.