Democracy is under fire, but also underrated
Jul 29, 2020
3 minutes
Of all the scenes of anger and confrontation from the ongoing street battles in Portland, Oregon, one video in particular has hit home for me: footage of a pair of federal agents in full camouflage gear detaining a solitary, unresistant protester, bundling him into an unmarked minivan and taking him away.
It aroused almost visceral echoes from my years as a foreign correspondent: memories of marauding Syrian “peacekeeping” troops on the streets of Beirut, South African forces in the sprawling black township of Soweto under apartheid, or the , Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, in the early years
Twilight of democracy?Autocrats rise, democrats fight backYou’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days