Since January 6th 2021, the world has been watching American politics closer than ever before, because in just a few hours, the fragility of the democratic system - even one claiming to be the greatest in the world - became terrifyingly clear.
This wasn’t like a terrorist attack, because terrorism feels like an external threat: a literal outsider, or extremist ideology disrupting the status quo. Terrorism, though tragic, is somewhat unifying for the people of a country, who stand together in solidarity and say “we shall not be beaten.”
But January 6th was different.
The attack came not from beyond, but from within.
American citizens, in the name of protecting their democracy, went on the attack against those who felt like the very same democracy was the one being attacked. Both sides claiming ownership to the same system. Both fighting for the same country, and the same cause, but with irreconcilably different ideologies.
January 6th exposed how vulnerable even the biggest democratic systems are to collapse under the right combination of circumstances.
So for the next four weeks, as America prepares to head to the polls for the most important midterm elections in recent memory, we are going to pick apart and truly understand US democracy, beginning with a stellar episode, as I’m joined by Lindsay Chervinsky to answer… what does democracy even mean?
Lindsay is the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library, so she knows a thing or two about the founding of the US.
Give it a listen and remember to follow, rate and review.
Liam
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