It’s tempting to think of democracy’s fragility only in terms of presidential elections, Supreme Court rulings, or congressional paralysis. But democracy doesn’t falter only on the national stage.
Its erosion begins in smaller, less visible places — in school boards, utility districts, and city councils — where citizens assume politics remains practical and nonpartisan, consensus-driven, and immune to the toxic currents of Washington.
That assumption, as Arizona and other states are learning, is dangerously naïve.
What we’re witnessing is part of a systematic pattern of authoritarian consolidation. What appear to be isolated skirmishes in small towns and counties are, in fact, part of a coordinated campaign to erode inclusive governance, dismantle professional administration, and weaponize local power against pluralism.
Read the entire commentary on Substack In The Center Lane With Herb Paine →
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Commentator Herb Paine says King Charles III's address to Congress last month was remarkable as an example of civic intelligence and an exhortation to defend democracy. -
Commentator Herb Paine on the troubling revival of capital punishment in the United States and Israel. -
In the midst of all the current social and political disruption, commentator Herb Paine takes a step back and reflect on how we shifted from an age of aspirations to an era of polarization. -
Commentator Herb Paine documents the Trump administration’s continuing campaign on what he calls "a coordinated effort to narrow, sanitize and control the stories Americans encounter about their own culture and history" and offers an "inventory" of the damage already done — and the implications of allowing it to continue. -
Commentator Herb Paine examines a crucial but under-explored dimension of the current moment: How the Jewish community responds ethically when Jewish continuity intersects with political power in Israel.
