When we see that democracy is about behaviors, we can study the factors that influence those behaviors. This can give us a much clearer understanding of what is going wrong and what can help. Crucially, institutions, social groups, and individuals all display behaviors that can be democratic or not

“So this is how democracy dies— to thunderous applause”

we can't give up, we also have to keep getting smarter

Yes, and to do something about it we need to update our understanding of how and why people seek/take in information. It's too easy to assume that people will simply find/take in true facts if they are available. Brains don't work like that and we've gotta sharpen up 🤷‍♂️

Democracy cannot be killed, it's deeper than institutions, it's an ideal that is inherent to humans. The basis of democracy is a belief in people not like us. Nurturing that belief is an ongoing struggle. We were out of touch, too comfortable, morally aloof, and that can't happen again.