Ryan Bridge: Democracy is a privilege billions still don't have
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It was a weekend of big events. A wedding, a funeral, and a milestone birthday.
Congratulations, in that order, to America on its 250th anniversary, to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce on their wedding, to those Iranians who suffered under the Ayatollah's rule, and to the All Blacks for beating France.
America's birthday is worth pausing on. If you take 1840 as the beginning of New Zealand's democracy, and many do, then the United States isn't actually that much older than we are.
Donald Trump, in typical fashion, declared the Declaration of Independence the greatest achievement in human history. That's probably overstating it. But it doesn't mean the occasion itself should be dismissed.
For 250 years, despite civil war, political upheaval and countless crises, the United States has remained a democracy. It hasn't been perfect, no country is, but it has protected freedoms that much of the world still lacks.
The freedoms to vote, to protest, to assemble and to speak your mind are things many of us take for granted.
They're tested from time to time, but they endure. America remains one of the freest and most open societies in the world.
That's worth remembering because most people don't live that way. According to Freedom House, only about one in five people worldwide live in a genuinely free society. And that number has been falling for years as military coups, wars and authoritarian governments spread. Since 2019 alone, nine African nations have experienced successful military coups.
Freedom is easy to overlook when you've always had it. You only realise its value when it's threatened or taken away.
That's why 250 years of democratic government deserves recognition, even while acknowledging America's flaws.
The contrast was on display over the weekend.
In America, people celebrated a national milestone. Here in New Zealand, we celebrated an All Blacks win. And in Iran, crowds gathered to mourn the Ayatollah.
But perspective matters. For many Iranians, particularly those forced into exile or persecuted by the regime, his funeral wasn't a moment of grief. It was a moment of relief, even celebration.
Democracy gives us the freedom to see those differences clearly. It's a privilege billions of people still don't have.
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