In a message dated 07/16/2000 9:24:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<<
 [I will be glad to answer your original question. I am waiting to see how
 others respond first.  Perhaps the question could be amplified a bit.  I
 take it to mean something like this:  Where on earth, in history, in the
 present, has democracy existed?  What individuals have died in defense of
 democracy, true democracy, and worked tirelessly toward its realization?
 ----Is that a fair summary of your inquiry?]
  >>

it's the usual warping that occurs when a straightforward thought enters the
twisty ravines of your serpentine thought -- especially the last segment of
your interpretation of my question.  O where is the Democracy of wei-en-lin?
does it echo in the musty dungeons of his imagined Confucianism or in the
trembling reminisces of the Name-of-the-Father?

jb....