[1]Powered By People

Dear John,

Though half a world away, the events in South Korea last week should give
us hope.

In case you weren’t following — last Tuesday South Korea’s right-wing
President attempted to shut down his country’s democracy and impose a
dictatorship on his fellow citizens by declaring martial law. Under the
pretense of rooting out North Korean communist sympathizers, President
Yoon Suk Yeol sought to bring the free press under his direct control, ban
political activities and any gatherings “that incite social unrest.”

And perhaps most alarmingly, soldiers surrounded the National Assembly at
President Yoon’s direction to prevent lawmakers from convening.

What happened next is what I find so inspiring.

Instead of submitting to this power grab, everyday Koreans rose up to
challenge their president and fight for their democracy. They rushed to
the National Assembly by the thousands, facing armed soldiers who could
very well have fired on their fellow citizens. Instead, the will of the
people prevailed over the possibility of political violence, and the
protesters were able to help lawmakers scale the fences and enter the
Assembly without being fired upon.

Once convened inside the Assembly, lawmakers of all parties — including
President Yoon’s — voted unanimously to repeal the declaration of martial
law. In other words, they saw past their partisan differences to put the
interests of their country and democracy ahead of any other consideration.

Faced with the united front of Korean citizens from every walk of life and
their democratically elected lawmakers, President Yoon gave in and
withdrew his declaration of martial law.

He now faces impeachment and potentially removal from office.

In these tough times, with the rise of authoritarians across the globe and
our own president-elect promising to “be a dictator on day one” of his
administration, we should take heart in the example of those willing to do
whatever it takes to fight for and preserve their democracy.

Beto

 




This email was sent to [email protected]. Email is the most important way for us to reach you about opportunities to act. If you need to remove yourself from our email list, click here to unsubscribe: [link removed]

PAID FOR BY POWERED BY PEOPLE