Jim Chrisinger: Democracy is the reason the United States of America exists. How is it that so many people don’t find it to be worth defending? -promoted by Laura Belin

Those of us who are hair-on-fire upset about attacks on our democracy are having trouble understanding why others aren’t.  

No question, our democracy is under attack. See voter suppression, gerrymandering, and incoming governors robbed of authority by lame duck legislators. Donald Trump endlessly repeats his Big Lie about the 2020 election to undermine our free and fair elections. To my knowledge, no elected Iowa Republican has pushed back. Nearly 70 percent of Republicans nationally believe Joe Biden did not win legitimately.  

Is our democracy so taken for granted that people can’t see that it’s threatened? Have they given up on our democracy because they think it’s broken and no longer works for them? Do they believe the avalanche of lies about election fraud? Are Democrats such evildoers that righteous opposition knows no bounds?  

Our democracy is messy right now, even pretty broken. It needs help. Democracy demands hard work; it must be constantly repaired and nurtured. One of its virtues is that it can self-correct. We did that in the late 1800s to end the spoils system, which was a mild version of authoritarianism.  

Democracy has drawbacks. We’ve just seen how susceptible it is to demagogues. Money can overwhelm citizen participation. As Winston Churchill said, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”  

If we are not willing to defend our democracy, what do we want to replace it? Certainly not socialism or communism. Ask the queen if we can return to the monarchy? Theocracy? We seemed to be headed toward oligarchy but Trump wants to take us to authoritarianism.  

Authoritarianism means unaccountable leaders and their followers lord it over everyone else. Those following the Dear Leader get their way. They are favored with benefits and others are excluded. Insiders get their streets plowed first; their relatives get the jobs; their permits are granted; they get the no-bid government contracts; cops give them a warning instead of a ticket. Media and curricula regurgitate the party line. Dissident voices are suppressed. Facts give way to lies. Elections are rigged. People who make trouble for the regime regret it. Corruption follows. Do people realize that this is where about a third of the country appears to want us to go?  

Messy as it is, most of us want to stick with our democracy. Let’s improve it, not ditch it.

With democracy, we have the autonomy to choose who rules us. Every election brings accountability. Our democracy enshrines equal treatment and individual rights through the Bill of Rights and the rule of law. Checks and balances keep power from being too concentrated. Free and fair elections give legitimacy to our collective decisions. If your side loses an election, you can come back and make your case next time. Democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people. Democracy aligns with human dignity.

Democracy is literally why the United States of America exists. Countless patriots fought and died for our first-in-the world democratic experiment these past 245 years.  And now it’s not worth defending? Seriously?