Benjamin Franklin\u2019s pen<\/a> that gave the phrase its more economic and agnostic tilt: not sacred, but \u201cself-evident.\u201d<\/p>\nFranklin, Aquinas would have said, hit closer to home, though perhaps for reasons outside the founder\u2019s purview. Neither political rituals nor the values they instill are sacred, even if they can hold the space for practices that are.<\/p>\n
The counting of votes is a cornerstone of modern democracy and hearing a president call for a halt to the count<\/a> is a disorienting moment that could leave many scrambling for the right adjective. According to Aquinas, however, \u201csacred\u201d is not the right one.<\/p>\nThe Conversation<\/a> is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. The Conversation is wholly responsible for the content.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n