We can’t view the news these days without finding fuel for despair. Nonetheless, I’d like to draw on my nearly forty years of advising on foreign aid for democracy, the rule of law and human rights around the world to offer ten positive points about American democracy in these troubled times.
These thoughts are not predictions. I see all sorts of reasons to see a dark future. But I don’t see how giving up does us any good.
1. We’re comparatively fortunate. Yes, really. As I sketch below, foreign societies burdened by poverty, poor education, repression and histories far worse than ours have overcome more daunting circumstances to launch, protect or restore democracy. If they can overcome, so can we.
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