Defending democracy requires ordinary witness, not heroic sacrifice

Evidence

The two activities to repair the damage of delegitimation—speaking truth to conspiracy and enacting democracy—do not call for heroic virtues. Senator Flake’s speech about principled resistance was laudable, a fulfillment of an obligation he took on as a political representative, but it was not heroic. Losing an election or giving up a Senate seat is not a grave sacrifice. Nobody is being imprisoned, exiled, or killed. Electoral defeats and the electoral success of opposition candidates are modest, regular occurrences in democracy, and they should be seen that way. They define democracy. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 364

Categorization

• SHARE: A counterintuitive framing of civic repair as small, regular acts rather than heroic resistance — worth sending to someone who studies democratic theory or civic education.
• XREF: connects to: Resisting conspiracism needs honest witnesses, not heroic martyrs — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 364

Broader Connections

• Resisting conspiracism needs honest witnesses, not heroic martyrs #expands (0.90) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 364