Why Americans Must Speak Up for Gaza, South Sudan, and the Congo—Even as Democracy Falters at Home
A moral commentary on my news feature from earlier today
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The Shrinking Gaze
I published an article earlier today about some of the most critical crises in the world. I received several comments asking me why I talked so much about crises overseas when American itself is unraveling.
In an era when American democracy itself seems fragile — when voting maps erase voices, courts roll back rights, and authoritarian impulses seep from the margins into the mainstream — it is tempting to shrink our gaze. To imagine that the only task left is to shore up the leaking foundations of our own house.
Democracy itself is wobbling here in the United States. In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, erasing a half-century of precedent and signaling the fragility of established rights when subjected to partisan courts.
In 2023, extreme gerrymandering in states like Alabama and North Carolina dismantled the voting power of Black and young voters, even after federal courts declared t…
