The Globalist: Nine Acres in Athens: Democracy’s Rise (and Fall)
In these troubling times, it has been reassuring to walk on a hot September afternoon among the ruins of Athens’ ancient agora. It was once the busy heart of what is often described as the world’s first democracy.
Athens and Washington, D.C.Five thousand miles away, and a few days before my Athens excursion, U.S. President Joe Biden had stood in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, warning that the United States’ democracy was “under assault.”
A violent mob seeking to toss out the valid votes of millions had “held a dagger to the throat of our democracy.” That threat remains, Biden asserted.
11.6.22
In these troubling times, it has been reassuring to walk on a hot September afternoon among the ruins of Athens’ ancient agora. It was once the busy heart of what is often described as the world’s first democracy.
Athens and Washington, D.C.Five thousand miles away, and a few days before my Athens excursion, U.S. President Joe Biden had stood in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, warning that the United States’ democracy was “under assault.”
A violent mob seeking to toss out the valid votes of millions had “held a dagger to the throat of our democracy.” That threat remains, Biden asserted.
11.6.22
“Humanity’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but humanity’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” -20th century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr
“Pure democracy cannot subsist long nor be carried far into the departments of state—it is very subject to caprice and the madness of popular rage.” -Declaration signer John Witherspoon
