Tag Archives: Can the Democratic Lamb and the Republican Lion Lie Down Together

Can the Democratic Lamb and the Republican Lion Lie Down Together?

 

“It is constantly assumed . . . that when the lion lies down with the lamb the lion becomes lamb-like. But that is brutal annexation and imperialism on the part of the lamb. That is simply the lamb absorbing the lion instead of the lion eating the lamb. The real problem—can the lion lie down with the lamb and still retain his royal ferocity?”
—G.K. Chesterton

Instead of wishing to annihilate those with whom we disagree (whether by eating them or suppressing them), can we acknowledge their right to exist? Not only their right to exist but their gifts?

Winners in a political contest can carry out their “mandate” in a wise and conciliatory manner or in a haughty one that humiliates the losers. Losers can react with hatred toward the winners or acknowledge their right to lead. Who knows? The lambs and the lions might discover a middle path they can walk together, one on the left, one on the right.