― T.H. White, The Once and Future King
After Thanksgiving dinner last weekend, some of us were sitting around talking, and my sister's four year old was obviously listening as, wide-eyed, she asked "What's 'government?'" Then, sidling up to my sister, in a lowered voice, "Is 'government' Satan?" Well... not quite.
A few days later, the same sister overheard one of her junior high aged kids singing altered lyrics to The W's song The Devil Is Bad; instead of "You are the devil and the devil is bad," it was "You are the government and you are bad."
Yesterday morning, she was getting ready to go vote when her two youngest boys- eight and six- came into the kitchen shouting, "DOWN WITH THE GOVERNMENT!" Concerned that they were getting the wrong impression, she explained to them that while we can- and should- criticise the government when necessary, we actually need one and must abide by certain laws. Apparently somewhat chastened, the two ran off shouting, "DOWN WITH ANARCHY!" My sister's satisfaction was short lived however... a little later, she could hear them in the basement yelling, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!" She decided not to investigate.
Here's The W's song, with unaltered lyrics: