This year’s celebration of the Fourth of July provides a particularly apt occasion for considering the health of our republic.
Opinions vary. One friend thinks that democracy as we used to know it in America is in extreme peril. Another believes that things are no worse now than they were in the ’60s. (I assume he means the 1960s, not the 1860s.)
And a third maintains that America’s commitment to democracy endures and that the institutions originated by the Founders have succeeded in keeping our nation on track.
I hope he is correct, but liberals and conservatives who are still committed to the values we celebrate on the Fourth of July should be concerned.
Some of this concern stems from the remarkable events of the past five years. Normal presidents don’t behave in ways that result in two impeachments in one term. Normal presidents don’t alienate our allies and cozy up to autocrats. Normal presidents don’t refuse to perform a peaceful transfer of power when they lose an election. And then there’s Jan. 6.