Nov 20, 2020

Protecting our Democracy

I believe that the overwhelming majority of people are moderates who may not always recognize our duty to stand up and be counted. But in moments like this, we must defend our Constitutional norms and uphold American trust in our democracy. This piece is based off of an email I felt compelled to send to Senate Majority Leader Shirkey and House Speaker Chatfield this afternoon.

Dear Michigan Senate Majority Leader Shirkey and House Speaker Chatfield,

We have never met, but I hope to meet you one of these days and to be able to express my deep gratitude for your role in safeguarding our democracy. You have been thrust into a historic moment. How you act today will determine a lot about our nation’s future, the integrity of American elections, and the character of the Republican Party.

I am a proud independent, as I have always feared the danger of being blinded by partisan loyalty.

I know you are facing enormous pressure to disregard the will of the people, and I hope you will be able to draw strength and courage, transcend any pressure, and honor our Constitutional norms and all regulations. While there is no doubt that President-elect Biden will take his seat in the White House come January 20th, sowing doubt in our electoral process in the interim only weakens our democracy and benefits despots and totalitarian leaders elsewhere.

As the son of a Holocaust survivor, I have observed the danger humanity faces by the nature of our inaction. The overwhelming majority of people are moderates who want to be left alone. Our natural instinct may not be to recognize our duty to stand up and be counted. But that cedes the space to those with more extreme points of view who have narrow selfish goals and will stop at nothing to achieve them. This can cause enormous harm to society.

That is the reason I am writing to you today. For you to know there are countless hundreds of millions of citizens who cherish our democracy and who will be grateful and have your backs when you stand up and ensure the law is respected.

With appreciation,

Daniel Lubetzky

Democracy

More from Daniel

The Media Is Over-Covering Divisiveness. It’s Going to Destroy Us

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In 2000, President Clinton hosted a peace conference at Camp David that gave many hope for peace in Gaza; but a few months later, the Second Intifada, a major Palestinian uprising against Israel, began. Having been working in the region for decades to found and build PeaceWorks, a company that used market forces to foster peace between neighbors in the Middle East, I was confused and depressed by the news. On Western television, I saw pictures of ruthless violence and terrorism from Palestinians, giving me the impression, at least initially, that the moderates I knew had succumbed to extreme ways. But when I went to talk to my Palestinian friends, and they showed me what they were seeing on the television, I was shocked:. Their news programs depicted all Israelis as merciless killers.

On both sides of the conflict, the news media seemed like it exclusively published stories portraying the worst of the other side, characterizing all Palestinians or Israelis as hateful enemies. It turned out that my friends hadn’t changed at all; they just weren’t the ones the media were showing. And in portraying things falsely in such a negative light, the media fed the conflict rather than helping resolve it.

We Americans are now facing this same problem, with potentially devastating repercussions for our democracy and our ability to lead the free world.

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