“Our democracy hangs in the balance.”

That is the first sentence of an op ed now up at the website of The New York Times, whose title is America, This Is Your Chance and which is subtitled “We must get it right this time or risk losing our democracy forever.” The author is Michelle Alexander, perhaps best known as the author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness.

But let me give you both sentences of the first paragraph:

Our democracy hangs in the balance. This is not an overstatement.

That SHOULD get your attention. It certainly got mine.

For those that do not have a TImes subscription, I believe you can get to the piece by clicking on the following tweet from Ali Velshi (and note what he quotes):

“If so many white people were not revolted by the idea of their tax dollars helping poor people of color obtain education, housing & social benefits — we would most likely have a social democracy like Norway or Canada” – Michelle Alexander ⁦⁦ https://t.co/B4Hmt53U5M

— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) June 8, 2020

There is much more in this MUST READ op ed.