Back from the Brink
In our most recent Presidential election Americans chose democracy over tyranny. There are two essential views of democracy. Elements of both views clashed in this election more than at any time in memory. Our clash in essential values has become louder over the years, resulting in our democracy coming more severely under threat. One view of democracy is that for any of us to remain under the rule of law rather than rule by oligarchs or autocrats, laws must apply equally to all. This means that we sacrifice privilege for some if all are to be treated equally. The tradeoff is that we live in a society where our rights are respected the same as everyone else. The other view of democracy is that we each try to use the system to prioritize our own rights – or those of our group – over others. From this perspective the rights of others are not as important as our own. When taken to its extreme, this view has moved democracies in the direction of autocracy, as is happening in many nati...