"Democracy's a very fragile thing. You have to take care of democracy. As soon as you stop being responsible to it and allow it to turn into scare tactics, it's no longer democracy, is it? It's something else. It may be an inch away from totalitarianism"

This quote by Sam Shepard is an alerting about the fragility of democracy. He is saying that democracy is something that needs to be taken care of and safeguarded. If it is not taken care of, it can easily turn into something else, such as totalitarianism. He is alerting that democracy can quickly escape if it is not taken care of which it is just an inch far from totalitarianism. This quote is a reminder that democracy is something that requires to be safeguarded and looked after in order to make sure that it stays a working system of government. It is a tip that democracy is something that requires to be respected and taken seriously in order to guarantee that it remains an operating system of government.