The State We're In: Democracy Edition

WAMU 88.5

Published November 4, 2019 at 10:06 AM EST

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the Medal of Honor ceremony for Army Master Sgt. Matthew Williams in the East Room of the White House.

Do Americans support democracy?

If you’re thinking “no duh,” the answer might not be as obvious as you think.

In a recent survey, nearly a quarter of Americans said that a strong leader who doesn’t have to bother with Congress or elections would be “fairly” or “very good.”

This isn’t new. Around the same percentage of people felt that way when the same question was asked in 1995. But why not? Do these people threaten the health of our democracy and democracy itself?

A year out from a very large test to America’s democratic process, we’re performing a check-up on our democracy, from the viewpoint of young people.

Are they giving up on democracy? Or pushing to make the system we have better?

Produced by Avery J.C. Kleinman.

GUESTS

Yascha Mounk, Associate professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies; author: “The People vs. Democracy”; senior fellow, the German Marshall Fund; @Yascha_Mounk

Kate Westa, Senior, University of Michigan; WeListen co-president;

@katewesta

Matthew Post, Sophomore, Yale University; head of advocacy, Yale Undergraduate Prison Project; legal advocate, March for Our Lives; @mattlpost

For more, visit https://the1a.org.