Democracy

Do not be too hard on politicians who struggle with and differ on their answers to these questions about the COVID-19 and the lockdowns. These are very hard things, and there is no indisputable right answer.

Of course America will survive the coronavirus. We’ve many times survived far worse.

Some argue that government restrictions on larger church gatherings are a violation of religious freedom. Others argue they are responsible and legitimate. Paul Marshall believes both positions are, or can be, correct.

Formal religious adherence is declining, but America’s longtime religious self-identity as a lodestar of democratic responsibility in the world continues unabashed.

The real 2020 questions about the US-China contest lie in how they influence the context for global trade, technology standards, military tools, and power projection of all forms.

If we are going to get anywhere in this debate about liberalism, we should take on the strongest arguments from our opponents and not their weakest or most caricatured. While I do not think Christians should see liberal democracy as the enemy, I do think its critics often have a point.

For all of the hand-wringing about the power technology holds over our society, it is indisputable that immense good has flown from such innovations.

In the fate of Egypt and its Christians, we should read one crucial fact: neither democratic nor authoritarian governance delivered anything resembling equal citizenship.

From a liberal Augustinian perspective, Christians should affirm several liberal institutions, such as the separation of church and state, religious tolerance, and a number of individual rights. Beyond that, it’s over to the considerations of wisdom. And democracy, best I can tell, remains the best of the worst.