What if, as a citizen of a democratic republic, I have decided that I like democracy,
and that it is my principal and paramount desire for democracy to endure? When I
vote concerning this or that public project, if I have voted with the minority, then my
displeasure and my disappointment at being on the side of the minority is going to
be eclipsed by the pleasure and gratitude I feel knowing that I am a citizen in a
democratic commonwealth republic.  Besides, sometimes in the conflicts and contests
of life you will lose, and sometimes you will win.

According to Edward M. Forster, democracy is "a system of government that admits
variety and permits criticism." And so, if you voted with the minority, you are still free to
believe and to openly express what you believe, and you are still free to criticize the
majority's opinion.





The principles of democracy are best explained by the practice of democracy.





"It's not the voting that's democracy, it's the counting."
-- Thomas Stoppard





"Every man is his own chief enemy."
-- Anacharsis