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Racism is on the ballot next week. Democracy is on the ballot next week. These things are inextricably linked because racism has disfigured American democracy from the founding of our nation. The road to a more perfect union has been long and uneven. And this road requires that we continually become a more perfect democracy and more just nation. While our democracy will never be perfect, we must continually defend the rights, institutions, and laws that help safeguard our freedoms and advance the common good. Increasingly, this election represents a test of whether we embrace and will work to realize a truly inclusive, multiracial democracy with liberty and justice for all.
A recent survey of independent experts for the Protect Democracy project indicated “substantial erosion” of American democracy, scoring the current threat to democracy at a 52 out of 100 (with 100 being “complete democratic breakdown”). In a recent Washington Post column, Richard Just put it plainly: "Whatever happens on Nov. 3 and in the days afterward, the biggest lesson of the past four years is that our collective commitment to democratic values needs, to put it mildly, some shoring up.” The Washington Post's editorial board has been regularly raising the alarm about the erosion of norms over the past few years, including "... commitment to democratic values, constitutional checks and balances, faith in reason and science, concern for Earth’s health, respect for public service, belief in civility and honest debate, being a beacon to refugees in need, aspirations to equality and diversity and basic decency."
It should also be of concern to all of us that extreme polarization and some of our nation's longstanding institutions have combined to make it harder than ever for the will of the people to be enacted. For example, gerrymandered districts in many states reward polarization and harm democracy. Ever since the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, corporate money has poured into political campaigns at an unprecedented pace. This past weekend, our country surpassed a new record of 80,000 new coronavirus infections in one day, which points to severe failures of leadership at every level. And this week’s confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett through a purely partisan vote in the midst of such a consequential election undermines the credibility of our judicial branch. Particularly during election seasons, the church grapples with what the Bible has to say about the role of governments.
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