John,
This week, I had the chance to take some time away and visit Greece, the birthplace of democracy.
Twenty-five hundred years ago, in this very spot, the ancient Athenians conceived of a new form of government that would respond to every citizen's voice rather than just the will of the few. In contrast to the militant Spartans to their south, the Athenians would settle differences through reasoned debate and compromise, not violence.
The ancient Greeks built this radical new form of government that gave power to the people and called it democracy. While this first iteration was flawed in many ways—excluding women and many men of Athens from having a vote—it was so revolutionary and forward-looking that it laid the foundations for our American democracy, which we’ve cherished for almost 250 years.
But today, America’s democracy, the oldest constitutional democracy in existence, feels more vulnerable than at any other time in recent memory. As America and our allies face real and growing threats from Russia, China, Iran, and beyond, many of us feel powerless to overcome the divisiveness in our politics here at home and solve the troubling issues we face, from our soaring national debt to our broken border security and immigration system.
Last week’s horrifying assassination attempt of former President Trump only drove home how unsettled we are as we strive to carry on our democratic legacy.
America is the greatest nation on Earth and I know we all feel blessed to live here. But history tells us that there are no guarantees as there are so many flourishing countries throughout history who rose to great heights and then collapsed amid their own divisions and dysfunction.
Now more than ever, it is vital that Americans embrace leaders who take that long view of history and work together to unite us and shepherd us past this current fragile moment.
Leaders like Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY), two lawmakers and allies of No Labels from opposite sides of the aisle who, in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Trump last Saturday, announced plans for legislation to enhance security for all presidential candidates.
Both leaders spoke eloquently about their resolve to ensure our country does not give in to the impulse to violence.
Said Rep. Torres: “Political violence, especially the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, is utterly unacceptable, and we must never accept it for the sake of our democracy.”
Rep. Lawler agreed: “Our democracy will endure as it has for 248 years and will continue to because of the American people…At the end of the day, our differences are far smaller than what unites this country, and we must always keep that in mind.”
As I write this from the heart of Athens, Greece, I have a view of the warm Mediterranean sun illuminating the ruins of the Acropolis in late-day light. It’s easy to imagine the ancients walking among the weathered pillars of the Parthenon, debating the issues of the day.
