26 August

One of those little keyholes into our amazing world. To divide is both to share, and to drive apart. ‘We are divided’ means we are fighting with each other. But to have peace we need to divide our common goods amongst each other. Demos, the root of the word democracy, and demon (strife, division), have the same root, da - to divide. The law courts and parliaments, where two sides argue, are the core of our peaceful lives. To have peace, you must argue and fight. We are divided, but we also must divide, or share. We move from demon to demos, through argument.