It only took two years for a 'robust' European democracy to fall apart

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

It only took two years for a ‘robust’ European democracy to fall apart

By Rick Noack July 22 at 6:31 AM

In a vote that has been described as an assault on democracy by European officials, the Polish Senate approved a rushed and controversial law on Saturday that will retire all Supreme Court judges and allow the president to replace them with more favorable alternatives. The measure still has to be signed by the Polish president, but he is expected to approve the changes.

Proposed by the ruling right-wing Law and Justice (Pis) party, the legislation has been widely condemned as the most worrisome development in a country where democratic institutions are under mounting pressure. If signed, the changes would constitute “an unprecedented attack on judicial independence,” according to a joint statement by leading judges from the neighboring Czech Republic.

It is the latest of many unprecedented attacks.

Only two years ago, Poland was widely considered a success story that had managed to seemingly leave behind its communist past, and turned into a “robust” role model democracy praised by officials across the European Union.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/07/21/it-only-took-two-years-for-a-robust-european-democracy-to-fall-apart/

[Binkie The Clown]

1. Historically, democracies don't last too long.

Someone finds a way to use the very freedoms that democracy provides as a way to subvert that democracy to their own ends. As more and more people become complacent and lazy, they pay less and less attention to what's happening, and one morning they wake up to find they are no longer living in a democracy.

A culture is like an ecosystem. It can be a lot more fragile that it looks, and if too many invasive species are introduced, the ecosystem falls apart. In this case, the invasive species consists of those who would take advantage of freedom and turn it against itself.

[global1]

2. We Beat Them - It Only Took Six Months For A Robust American Democracy To Fall Apart....

Thank you Repugs and fake president Trump.