Two Wolves and a Lamb

There's so much one hears daily on the radio talk shows and on cable TV, it all melds into one dull, interminable groan. There is a theme, though, that seems to be emerging on the Democrat side of the aisle: "the majority must rule", i.e., democracy.

People are understandably confused as to the various terms that are being used to describe governance. In the ever-shifting sands of word definitions, there's no longer any way to tell the difference between "socialism", "communism", "Marxism", "Maoism" and the like - especially since such terms are being used indiscriminately as pejoratives by individuals who are interested only in scoring put-downs.

On the other side too distinctions have become blurred. "Democracy" is touted as the highest to which man can aspire: one man, one vote; every vote counted; etc. Seldom mentioned is that ours is actually a republic: "a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them."

There's a reason for why we are a republic instead of a democracy: democracies seldom survive. Which brings me to a quote I heard among all the din only yesterday. It's a quote commonly attributed to Ben Franklin that actually stuck and bears repeating: "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch."