Are we losing our democracy?

A guest editorial in the NYT yesterday, May 8th,  How Will We Know when We Have Lost Our Democracy? by Steven Levitsky, Lucan Way and Daniel Ziblatt is enough to rattle anyone's cage.

On Wednesday, May 6th I woke up to make coffee, get breakfast and while that was brewing I took my blood pressure.  I have hypertension, take a daily medication that has not been that great at controlling it. My internist requested that I take my BP a couple of times a week for a more thorough check.  On Wednesday morning it was so high, I panicked.  I started out looking for a same day appointment - none available, then I made an appointment for June 18th.  That wasn't going to do much when my blood pressure was shockingly high this minute.  Finally, I had an extended telephone conversation with a triage nurse who was able to both calm me down and get a note to my doctor for the additional medication we had discussed.  I picked up this medication on Wednesday evening and began taking it Thursday morning.  My blood pressure is still high, but not quite so high as it was.  It takes time with medication.

The thing is, I know why my blood pressure is high and my anxiety is just as high.  I am distressed by the state of our country.  And, it feels like there is nothing I can do.  Well, nothing that I can do that would, quite honestly, be truly helpful. Yes, I believe we are losing our democracy.  It's being plucked from right under our noses.  

I am one individual with one vote.  I am not an important individual.  I'm not a congressperson, law firm, university administration, news media corporation or a corporation of any kind.  In many cases, these entities are also wringing their hands and they are also caving.  In the case of the news media, there is also plenty of bothsiderism going on,   

Each time, which happens to be daily now, I receive one or two solicitations in the mail requesting money to Save Our Democracy from this organization or that individual.  I feel my anxiety rise when I reach in my mailbox and pull out non-standard, enlarged size envelopes with warnings written alongside my address.  It feels like the democratic side of our government is using its voters as a bank account.  What are they using the money, my money, the money of others, for?  I am paying attention and I see little action on the part of our elected people.  I know things are being done.  Someone is filing all of these court cases.  Thank God.  And, on the non-democratic, i.e. Republican, side of our government, doing nothing is epidemic, while at the same time making things worse.  Just carrying on as if this is all normal American politicking.  Nothing at all seems to get these individuals off their duffs.  They care too much about themselves and their very important jobs, even though they have done nothing at all for years, possibly decades.  Legislate?  What's that?  Not even a nod to the fact that Trump is breaking law after law after law.  Anyone else would face life in a 10x10 foot cement box if they even tried half of what he is doing. 

We all know it's not normal.  Even my blood pressure knows it's not normal.  My message to myself is that I need to calm down.  Reading one more article or op-ed, listening to one more podcast suggesting the we (by which I presume is meant the average everyday voter who is as concerned as I am) are not doing enough is not going to help my blood pressure, nor will it help our democracy.  Those with the power and oomph, need to get off their behinds, stop caving to Trump and resist him and those of his ilk who he so enjoys associating with.  

Are we losing our democracy?  Yes, we are losing our democracy.