Democracy is dead in America when a smart, articulate, unifying Congressman - Rep. Dean Phillips - spends more than two months campaigning in New Hampshire for the Democratic Presidential Primary, and gets nearly zero news coverage.
Democracy is dead in America when a sitting president is a no-show in New Hampshire because he fears being challenged by someone more fit for office than himself.
Democracy is dead in America when the Democratic National Party and state Democratic parties keep Phillips off the ballot and call Biden the winner.
Democracy is dead when Biden says it is "clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee." Probable, yes, but who is Biden to declare winners before Americans vote?
Democracy is dead when a majority of Republicans support an incoherent, racist, sexually abusive man who refused the peaceful transfer of power in the last election and will make pardoning himself one of his first acts if he indeed wins the coming election.
Democracy is dead when autocratic Trump speaks to his followers through limited communication channels, inciting them with false threats that people and institutions are out to get them and that he is the only one who can save them.
Democracy is dead in America when special interest money controls politicians' positions, what we hear, and who we can vote for to lead our nation.
Democracy is dead when our citizens are too tired, too discouraged, too zoned-out, too disenfranchised, too preoccupied - with the Kardashians or porn or Netflix - to engage in civil discourse or stand up for what they believe is important and just.
Democracy is dead in America. We can only hope that there is life after death.
Jacki Brown
Jamaica
This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons.