Democracy is a tough concept.  It means personal freedom and political self-determination.  But how do you balance personal freedom with personal safety and security?  How do you achieve fairness in government when everyone has a voice in making decisions?  It is not easy to accomplish these goals which can often be in conflict with one another.  In fact, it is the political competition between different factions which leads over time to societal change and progress.

Freedom House divides the world into three categories: free, partly free, and not free (see map).  Ukraine is only partly free but identifies with the West and is becoming more democratic.  Russia wants to keep Ukraine under its autocratic thumb.  The U.S. and its allies are supporting the brave Ukrainian resistance with military aid.  There is a good chance that Ukraine will ultimately prevail.  If it does, then other countries presently under Russia’s domination (see second map) will also want to break loose.  In other words, there is momentum for democracy’s expansion around the world as there has been for the past hundred years.

Democracy is also thriving within the U.S.  Consider:

• The 2020 Presidential election. The Trump organization filed 60+ lawsuits trying to overturn the election results in particular states.  None were overturned.  The January 6, 2021 capitol break-in, as disgraceful as it was, had no effect on the outcome of the election.  In other words, U.S. democracy has had a severe stress test and passed with flying colors.
• Voting restrictions. There were numerous voting irregularities in 2020 due to the pandemic.  Many (especially red) states are tightening procedures for absentee and mail-in voting in order to preserve the strong American tradition of voting integrity.  Decentralization of governmental authority is one of the key strengths of our constitutional republic.  The states are in charge of election procedures and, not surprisingly, are taking this responsibility seriously.
• The culture wars.  The culture wars represent democracy in action. There are huge differences of opinion in the U.S. about abortion rights, gender ideology and critical race theory.  These differences have to be worked out within our democratic system which is exactly what is now happening.  It’s a messy, contentious process but how could it be otherwise with such huge differences of opinion amongst the people?

  

• Polarization.  Our current political climate is highly polarized, with all but two states (Minnesota and Virginia) having both legislative chambers controlled by the same party (Nebraska is unicameral with Republican control).  Again, polarization is simply a sign of our widely divergent views on many basic issues.  It is made worse by identity politics and should gradually fade away as minorities become more integrated into the American way of life.

  

Conclusion.  There is a worldwide struggle occurring between democracy (the U.S. and its allies) and autocracy (China and Russia).  The forces of democracy have many strengths, including economic and military superiority (see chart).  But the main strength is that so many people around the world prefer individual freedom and political self-determination when they have a realistic opportunity to achieve it.  Ukraine is willing to fight for the same freedoms that the U.S. (and its allies) have in great abundance.

Sign-up for my Email Newsletter
Follow me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter