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It’s our Turn to Fight for Democracy
“Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part.”
~John Lewis
The events of the past three years have revealed the fragility of our democracy. We have taken democracy for granted, watched smugly as coup d’état attempts unfolded in other countries, and reassured ourselves that it could never happen here. We are a free country, and we choose our leaders in civilized elections. The past few years have showed how quickly that can all disappear.
Our founders expressed concern about tyranny and a future president attempting to make a power grab. They feared that a future elected leader would seize control and institute an autocratic regime. They saw Donald coming more than 240 years ago. In forming the new nation, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, and others spent time researching republics as far back as ancient Greece and Rome to identify how their systems worked, and why they failed.
They devised a clever system of checks and balances to prevent one man from gaining too much power, such as a legislative branch, independent judiciary, and a free press. Donald spent much of his time in office attacking the institutions and the checks and balances built into our system, gradually and severely weakening them in service of his own agenda.