There is a popular folk tale, ascribed often to Cherokee origin, about a young man struggling to manage his behavior and emotions during adolescence who is sent to his grandfather for advice. The grandfather responds by telling his own story:
“An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said gravely to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil- he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” Staring deep into the hearth, his fearful countenance and meek voice gave way to a warm smile and soft eyes as he continued:
“The other is good– he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you– and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a moment. The features on his face drooped, and he asked his grandfather fearfully, “Which wolf will win?”
“The one you feed,” he said.
I share this little tale because in participating in a democracy we are feeding one wolf or another. There are many wolves and I’ve named some of them in this tweet: A wolf named liberty, a wolf named socialism. In stretching this metaphor, institutions, not the underlying ideas, are the wolves that we feed; institutions like the freedom to enter and compete in commercial markets, the universally equal application of the rule of law. It is the institutions we feed, not the philosophies underlying those institutions.
Which wolf are you feeding? Which do you think we ought to feed? Leave a comment below or on @Tehrm on Twitter.