The Work of Democracy

I woke during the night in a peaceful state, my thoughts quiet and contemplative.

And yet, what came to me was the fragile state of our democracy.

I thought of Trump, Musk, and Bezos, and of the growing concentration of political, economic, and technological power in the hands of a few. I found myself wondering whether democracy is more at risk now than at any time I have known in my lifetime.

I don’t know how this will unfold. I don’t have answers. Artificial intelligence adds another uncertainty—an extraordinary human creation that could serve democracy or further undermine it, depending on the choices we make.

But beneath all of these thoughts was something deeper.

Democracy cannot be protected only by institutions, courts, laws, or elections. It must also live among people—in neighborhoods, communities, conversations, and our willingness to remain in relationship with one another.

Those who would weaken democracy benefit when we see one another primarily as enemies.

Perhaps, then, part of the work before us is both political and deeply human: to resist what divides us, to listen without surrendering what matters, and to rediscover how to stand together.

I don’t know what will happen.

But I have a growing sense that the future of democracy may depend upon our capacity to remember that we belong to one another.