Americans agree their democracy is in crisis – yet the solution is as simple as it is elusive

A scholar of American government cites polling showing 17% of Americans trust the federal government to do what is right, down from 73% in 1958, alongside record-low trust in media and only 34% believing most people can be trusted. Eighty-three percent say the country has strayed from its founding ideals, and 37% say violence may be necessary to correct course, according to an NPR/PBS/Marist poll cited in the piece.

The essay ties this erosion to concrete developments: immigration raids described as terrorizing cities, a Justice Department the piece calls politicized, and Trump nominees who won't acknowledge Biden's 2020 win. It also notes over 1,400 incidents of violence against journalists since 2017, most by law enforcement, and argues that education and a free press, not courts, are the real check on democratic decline.

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