July 5, 2026
To the extent that a democratic society gives its citizens the chance to speak in their own voices and listens to what they have to say, it gives itself the chance not only of discovering its multiple glories and triumphs but also of surviving its multiple follies and crimes.
Lewis H. Lapham (1935 – 2024) American writer and editor, “Democracy in Irons” in Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and the Stifling of Democracy, Penguin (New York: 2004). P. 171
MEDITATION: Most of us are subject to multiple levels of government—whether national, state, provincial, or local, and assuming yours is a democratic society, how good a job are these governments doing in terms of listening to the governed?
If you are a politician, assess your own performance in this regard. Are you someone who can deal with criticism without rejecting it out of hand? How thin is your skin?
COMMENTARY: The greatest folly of a democratic populace is to dismiss the views of others who see things differently. And if you think that’s not an issue, take a tour of the civil wars of history—the Spanish, the English, the Russian, the Chinese, the American? Not good! And never say it can’t happen here!
