I am a bit older than most of my colleagues here. I still remember quite vividly the events that happened across America from the early 1960s to the late 1970s. I saw much of it in person. I think the political polarization during those days was even more sharp than it is now. Lives were at stake — here in America, and of course, in Vietnam.
But the country survived. It all began to subside once we put some adults back in charge. And this, too, will eventually subside. It has to. It will become apparent even to the most irrational and most extreme young people that they all need this country. They need it because there is nowhere else to go. They need it for the same reasons that millions of people who don't live here still dream of living here, still try to get here.
Winston Churchill is still remembered for his two opinions of democracy. In the first, he said:
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."
and he followed that with:
"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others."
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