Democratic Norms: A Deteriorating Foundation?
On a same-day visit to both the Holocaust Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), my world view shifted dramatically. The urgency of history, coupled with the current political climate and social unrest, compelled me to write. The time for complacency is over; it's time to engage, learn, and act. Democratic norms are the invisible glue that holds our society together. They're the unspoken rules we follow, the collective agreement that makes cohabitation possible in a complex, diverse society. It's like a morning routine that sets the tone for the rest of the day; we hardly notice it, but its absence creates chaos. In much the same way, our daily habit of adhering to democratic norms, like respecting the rule of law or agreeing to disagree, creates a sense of stability that we take for granted. But what happens when the foundation starts to crack? The same unsettling feeling you get when you skip your morning routine is the exact sens...