Democracy, which protects the power of the individual, relies on a spirit of cooperation and compromise in order to thrive. While various parties may disagree on a wide range of issues, their willingness to consider and respect one another's views is essential. So too is a commitment to ensuring that all citizens have a voice in the policies and laws that are enacted.
As we have seen with the Arab Spring, democracy cannot take hold in regions where factions or sects hate one another and choose to settle differences or exact revenge by violent attacks. Neither can democracy flourish in countries where a dictator, a military junta or a ruling class determines the rights of individuals.
The United States, the paragon of democracy, was once nearly torn apart by civil war. Having survived that threat and its aftermath, we now face a political movement that refuses to compromise with other segments of our population; demonstrating a profound degree of disrespect, they are willing to disrupt the stability of our country to achieve their narrow-minded goals. Intolerant of other views while offering no constructive solutions for the problems that we face, they imperil our democracy in pursuit of their own agenda. Hopefully, democracy will prevail and their radical, self-righteous obstructionism will fade from the political landscape.
