Democracy is far better than its alternatives, but it is not enough to guarantee freedom and a good life.
I was once invited to meet a group of Jewish Republicans on a visit to Israel. When I got to their hotel, Natan Sharansky was speaking. He mentioned that President George W. Bush had told him that he very much liked his book on democracy. He then quipped that maybe the president had not read the last chapter. Sharansky said that one cannot throw democratic norms at a society that does not have the underlying moral and philosophical infrastructure to support democratic choices and living. His comments came in response to Hamas winning “democratic’ elections in the Palestinian territories. The Palestinians have not run an election since, going nearly 20 years without their people going to the polls.
What people often fail to appreciate is that democracy itself guarantees nothing. We tend to see democratic elections in countries that are relatively open and free. How do we look today at England, where cops can show up at 4 in the morning to arrest someone for a social media post that causes “anxiety” in others? Instead of telling those poor anxious folks to grow up and deal with the real world, the police would rather neutralize the supposed source of the queasy feelings. What happens if the market tanks? That would cause a lot of anxiety. Will they arrest all of the executives working in the City?
A truly democratic election, whether it be for prom queen or Congress means 50%+1 and nothing else. The basic assumption is that if a candidate or proposed rule or law is so against the position of the electorate, then it will fail to get that majority needed to succeed. The problem we have today as countries become far less religious than they once were is that we don’t have large-scale agreement on many critical issues. Democracy works well within a strong moral system. America, while eschewing a national religion, has traditionally been called a Christian country. The importance of that description has meant that nominally Christian values have defined the outer limits of where the Republic could go via democratic elections. It is no wonder that there were no Congressional votes or Supreme Court cases on gay marriage or guys in women’s sports in the 1950’s, 60’s or ‘70’s. The moral guardrails that were accepted by the vast majority of the population by their beliefs would have made such subjects non-starters. But when “Thou shalt not kill” is associated with an increasingly minor part of the population, then assisted suicide can find its way to a vote in various state legislatures. When “Thou shalt not steal” is again accepted by a minority of Californians for whom religion is the center of their lives, then one can steal up to $950/day/store and still be okay with the DA who won by more than 50%+1. Democratic outcomes can be no better or different than the values of the population at a given time. If a town votes by a majority to throw out every resident whose last name starts with the letter “Z”, then they could start the process until some court found them in violation of a local, state, or federal law.
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I am not suggesting in any way replacing democratic norms in the United States. I definitely think that voting should be made honest and secure. My Israeli family and friends think that I am lying when I say that many places do not require photo ID and California went so far in 2024 to make it illegal to ask for it. But even completely kosher elections will not yield outcomes different from the values and perspectives of the population at the time. We in the US were spoiled by over 200 years of generally accepted norms that followed religious values and beliefs. But as recent generations have become less religiously active and have defined their values from other sources such as what they learned in college, that which is considered acceptable has changed. I don’t think that the Democrats will have enormous appeal if they continue moving further and further to the left. Still, much of the public thinks as the party’s leaders do, and so one might find future elected officials holding views that are a complete anathema to what one would have called “American” not so long ago.
And this is one of the risks of political Islam. Muslims brought wholesale into Europe actually believe in something, unlike many of the locals. They also reproduce at a much higher clip and they know how to use the laws to advance their goals and interests. A motivated minority with defined goals and working knowledge of the system can transform its surroundings in a very short period of time. If Europeans want to live under Sharia law, that certainly is their choice. If Sharia comes to them against their will, they can only blame themselves and their feckless leaders for bringing about such an outcome. Democracy is only as good as the values of those 50%+1 voters. When one believes in nothing, then the other side has a big advantage in getting out the vote.
Should the Democrats continue to be the party of Not Trump and hold outlandish positions, their favorability should continue to be around the level of dry toothpaste. The fact that they have nothing to offer the American people will hopefully keep them in an electoral minority for years to come. But one has to remember that their failures are due to a lack of appeal of unfettered immigration, high inflation, projected weakness abroad, and lousy schools. Should they find candidates whose positions and ability to use the English language are more appealing, “democracy” only needs 50%+1 in order to go from Republican back to Democrat. Look at some of the lunatics the Democrats have in Congress: they were all elected by majorities in their home districts. The change in values of a large percentage of the population means that goofballs can be sent to Washington. We no longer have the accepted wisdom that certain things are forbidden and other things required. A long time ago, saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the school day was as uncontroversial as liking baseball. But with the populace becoming less religious, many things we took for granted are either gone or in danger of being voted out of existence. How did we get to guys in women’s sports? How did we get to multimillionaire athletes disrespecting the country that made them rich and famous? How did we get to schools that can’t produce literate students who actually like their country? 50% +1.
Democracy works well when there are moral guardrails to define the accepted field of political discussion. When such guardrails do not exist, extending abortion beyond the moment of birth or granting illegal aliens the right to vote are not out of the question. Let’s hope that a successful Trump presidency will help reestablish generally accepted concepts of the good that is the United States. The alternative is President AOC and Vice President Bernie Sanders.
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