Edward Luce pins his hopes for liberal democracy surviving in the US on “the courage of individual Americans” (“Je suis Khalil”, FT Swamp Notes, FT.com, March 14). I agree with him in part. We Americans need to be courageous, each and every one of us. But individual courage is not enough to protect democracy in the US.
Our students at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School at George Mason University emphasise the importance of community efforts too, in addition to individual action. Our students come from around the world, many from war zones, and some have lived under authoritarian regimes. They teach me that people need to work together in community to effectively shape the worlds we live in.
Individual Americans can each be courageous, and some individuals can make a difference on their own. But, collectively, we can have major impacts. We can learn together to build the kind of world we want our children to live in.
We in the US can learn from others who have protected democracy in other contexts. We can take time to talk with our neighbours, near and far, building relationships across divides so that we can work together.
We can speak out and exercise our freedom of speech, voicing controversial ideas as protected speech, and doing so alongside others, in conversation. We can engage in more peaceful protests, more often, no matter the weather.
My students remind me that thousands can easily be detained or deported, but millions cannot so easily be suppressed.
Susan H Allen
Henry Hart Rice Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution,
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, US
