Perhaps no American political trope is as contradictorily employed today as “saving democracy.” Some political partisans, especially President Biden, equate “saving democracy,” with supporting him over Donald Trump. Some of Biden’s opponents believe that his abuse of executive orders could be corrected by replacing him with a successor issuing executive orders based on a different worldview. The Washington Post, meanwhile, suggests by its motto that democracy can be saved for the price of a subscription. What’s clear is that we’re not sure what democracy is, how it might be saved, or even why we should bother trying.
Perhaps we can agree that democracy means more than counting votes. Citizen engagement in democracy entails far more than voting, as illustrated by the fact that many autocratic countries routinely hold elections and also affirm “democracy,” even enshrining it in their constitutions.
Comments