"Polls echo the fragility. Many Americans say democracy is failing. Trust in institutions is depressed. Confidence in the Supreme Court sits at historic lows. The glue weakens."
With regard to democracy, I'm curious how much of this is really understood by the public. I get the sense that a lot of people view American democracy in the abstract, as though it is some inherent part of our national identity, but so inherent that it is almost intractable. So they agree that "democracy is failing" without appreciating what that actually means.
Perhaps. I'd point out, though, that there has been a lot of rhetoric around this idea in the last decade. While it's clear there is a lot of animosity between politically active citizens on the Left and the Right, there is also a huge swath of Americans who have no interest in political outcomes; 80 million people didn't even bother to vote in 2024. I think there's a tendency to view one's social media feed as indicative of the national situation, but I think it's fair to say a lot of people just aren't paying much attention to politics, even today.
"Polls echo the fragility. Many Americans say democracy is failing. Trust in institutions is depressed. Confidence in the Supreme Court sits at historic lows. The glue weakens."
With regard to democracy, I'm curious how much of this is really understood by the public. I get the sense that a lot of people view American democracy in the abstract, as though it is some inherent part of our national identity, but so inherent that it is almost intractable. So they agree that "democracy is failing" without appreciating what that actually means.
Perhaps. I'd point out, though, that there has been a lot of rhetoric around this idea in the last decade. While it's clear there is a lot of animosity between politically active citizens on the Left and the Right, there is also a huge swath of Americans who have no interest in political outcomes; 80 million people didn't even bother to vote in 2024. I think there's a tendency to view one's social media feed as indicative of the national situation, but I think it's fair to say a lot of people just aren't paying much attention to politics, even today.
Our democratic republic could slip away in a heartbeat. So very fragile we are.