Cynthia Miller-Idriss: America's democracy is failing — and the world knows it.
Luckily, just because a democracy is in crisis does not mean it will collapse. On average, it takesfrom the onset of democratic backsliding to end in either democratic breakdown or recovery. But we are long overdue for a course correction.
Aside from international NGOs focusing on fixing America’s democracy, we can learn from the experiences of foreign governments throughout history, too. Germany’s post-World War II efforts to strengthen democracy include a wide variety of investments that simultaneously tackle right-wing extremism, racism, and antisemitism. South Africa built a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the atrocities of apartheid and provide a path to restorative justice and healing.
These cases demonstrate that it is possible — with sustained educational, national, and community investments — to create more informed citizens, restore trust across dividing lines, energize youth engagement, and reduce political violence. Doing so requires significant educational andprogramming. It requires engagement across sectors, through partnerships with civil society, the tech and media sector, local governments, and faith communities.
We are a long way from that kind of shared community. And in the end, saving our own democracy will require more than the efforts of a few committed citizens. The kind of effort we need to turn our backsliding democracy around cannot be done if the federal government doesn’t lead the charge with serious resource investments.
At its heart, this work is about resilience, rooted in an understanding that democracies must be nurtured through education and not just defended with force. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the U.S. made unprecedented investments in our security infrastructure. We created an entire new agency — the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — whose mission is to “
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