Me: I am sometimes quite confused.
Me: Ask me why?
You: Well, what are you confused about?
Me: You’re much smarter than.., pause.
Me: Never mind; I am not sure I understand the whole notion of democracy, freedom of speech, those sort of things.
You: Hmm! I see. Which part of democracy or freedom of speech don’t you grasp?
Me: The whole thing.
You: I see. Pause.
You: Let me try to shed some light into this very difficult topic.
You: You see, freedom of speech allows you to say what’s on your mind without any fear of punishment. Pause.
Me: So, if I curse the President, I am exercising freedom of speech, right?
You: Well, within reasonable limits.
Me: In other words, freedom of speech allows one to say what’s on one’s mind as long as no one can hear, right?
You: Well, as I said earlier, it’s a very difficult topic.
Me: No wonder I am so confused.
Me: How about democracy?
You: democracy gives you the opportunity to choose elected officials. Pause
You: You know, president, senators, mayors, etc…
You: Do you understand?
Me: What does that do for me?
You: Well, if you don’t like what an elected official does in office, you can vote him/her out of office.
Me: That does what for me again?
Me: So, it’s kind of switching from the mouse to the cat, watching over the cheese.
Me: I like it.
Me: Help me understand the difference between democracy and dictatorship
You: you must be dumber than I thought. Pause.
You: See, I just exercise freedom of speech.
You: Let me see if I can explain it in very simple terms.
Me: Please do. You know how slowly my brain works.
You: I know, that’s why I offer.
Me: I appreciate it.
You: Ok. In a dictatorship, one person makes all the decision, the dictator; usually he will govern the country with iron fist for as long as he lives.
You: In a democracy however, many different groups participate in the governing of the country.
Me: In other words, in a democracy, there are dictators with term limits.
You: what exactly do you mean by that?
Me: That’s a subject for another time.
The People Branch 