Is American Democracy in Crisis?

A fitting book to read amidst the backdrop of today’s current events; the mass protesting across the United States after the killing of George Floyd. This book is a transcript, with interviews before and after, of a 2017 debate on whether or not United States is undergoing a fundamental crisis in its democratic system, argued between E.J. Dionne Jr., Andrew Sullivan (pros) and Newt Gingrich and Kimberley Strassel (cons).

Reading this only 2.5/3 years after it was published is almost like (ironically) reading ancient history. The major questions and scandals of the day (that President Trump vowed to revoke NBC’s broadcasting license, and the Warsaw speech) are merely footnotes of footnotes compared to what has happened since, and compared to the national mood.

Critical topics of systemic racial inequality, unlawful use of police force, and America’s international reputation are covered, yes, but covered in what now reads as naiveté. It is a picture of 2020 that a debate topic like this, were it to be held now, would almost be met with a laugh and not treated seriously.

That the core underpinnings of democracy around the world are so obviously under threat, the divisions so deep, that the exercising of discussing their existence would be almost futile. Of course there are points of optimism and of course there are ways forward. But reading this book was just another reminder of the negative track we continue to slide down.