By Molly McCracken

November 24/25, 2019 "Information Clearing House" - With next year’s presidential election drawing ever closer, and impeachment proceedings going forward against current leader Donald Trump, American citizens are facing existential questions about the nature of their democracy. The United States was founded on the promise of revolution – a war was fought and won on the rejection of the Old World’s hierarchical societies, and the glass ceilings that inhibited the freedom and progression of the non-ruling classes. America’s demonstrative patriotism is, in fact, often startling to outsiders. The pledge of allegiance, national anthem, and ubiquity of the flag build up a sense of American exceptionalism at the heart of public culture, fundamentally woven into daily life, and rooted in the belief that the nation offers a unique promise unmatched in other countries. Yet, the very ideals of democratic inclusion on which the United States celebrates itself is increasingly at risk. Despite the promise that all men are created equal – affirmed in the Declaration of Independence as the nation wrote itself into being – political manoeuvrings over the past few years reflect the sustained challenges of transforming that equality from an aspiration into a reality.