American democracy is in peril

Walter’s book “How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them” says two factors point to a possible future civil war in America:

First is the erosion of democratic norms — something that often goes hand-in-hand with the rise of an autocrat.

Trump’s well-documented effort to pressure Congress and election officials around the country to overturn the election puts him neatly in this role.

So, too, does his willingness to excuse his followers’ use of violence to break the nation’s political order.

The second factor, Walter recently told CNN, is the rise of power-seekers “using racial, religious or ethnic divisions to try to gain political power.”