2020-03-01_The_Atlantic

7

COMMONS

DISCUSSION

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DEBATE

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Q

• &
  
  
  • A
  
  
  
  

In the December issue, “How to Stop a Civil War,” Adam

Serwer wrote that the gravest danger to American democracy

is the false promise of civility. Graeme Wood wrote about

Daniel Miller, the leader of the Texas Nationalist Movement.

Q Mr. Serwer reprises several partisan tropes.

Disenfranchising minority voters and attacking

liberal immigration policy certainly are Republican

tactics to forestall demographic irrelevance. Aren’t

support for Dreamer citizenship, open borders, and

minimal deportation likewise Democratic tactics

to accelerate demographic dominance? — Derek

Ridgley, Nederland, Colo.

A Whether or not the immigrants in question

become reliable Democratic voters is within the

Republican Party’s ability to help decide; “open

borders” as they existed for white people for most

of United States history are not on the table,

and deferring the deportation of undocumented

immigrants does not make them eligible to cast a

ballot in federal elections. Democrats can be held

accountable by the electorate for taking unpopular

positions on immigration. By disenfranchising rival

constituencies, the Republican Party eliminates the

ability of the electorate to hold the GOP similarly

responsible for its actions.— Adam Serwer

Q Would an independent Texas issue currency? If so,

trying to pay for imported goods with that currency

could increase costs for Texans, because sellers would

likely demand a premium for a new and untested

government’s issuance. — Diana Powe, Beaverton, Ore.

A Daniel Miller hopes that Texas will issue its own

currency, but he says it need not do so immediately

upon independence. His “Texit” movement

envisions an amicable divorce, and the new country

developing monetary policy gradually, if necessary.

An independent Texas could at fi rst enter into a

currency union with the remaining 49 states, then

issue its own currency later, once it established the

institutions necessary to manage and back its money

supply. As Miller never fails to point out, much

smaller economies than Texas (Australia, say) issue

their own currency and do just fi ne. — Graeme Wood

ON THE RANCH

I have been reading

Th e Atlantic since my

college days, in the late

1950s and ’60s, when

it was Th e Atlantic

Monthly. About 10 years

ago, I found myself

reading too much at the

ranch and not doing

enough work, so I quit

a bunch of subscrip-

tions and narrowed my

reading list. But I still

kept buying Th e Atlantic.

When I got snowed in

last November, I had

some time to read, and

learned about the con-

test. My wife, Patsy, took

some pictures after the

snow melted, but we had

no idea what the heck

Instagram or a hashtag

was. Grand children came

to the rescue.

— Anthony Sanchez,

winner of the 2019 Reading

My Atlantic Contest

Carrizozo, N.M.

a much better job of acknowl-

edging the full and complicated

truth about the procedure,

which is that for many women,

abortion is the better of two

bad choices.

Too Much

Democracy Is Bad

for Democracy

Th e major American parties

have ceded unprecedented

power to primary voters,

Jonathan Rauch and Ray

La Raja wrote in December.

It’s a radical experiment—

and it’s failing.

Th omas Jeff erson said, “An edu-

cated citizenry is a vital requisite

for our survival as a free people.”

So it is dis heartening to see the

authors of this article support

dis engagement of the electorate.

If representative democracy is

to be successful, then the people

must be actively involved in

choosing, and holding account-

able, their representatives. The

answer to our political woes is

investment in the education of the

citizenry. It is not to tell citizens

to become passive players in the

government—their government.

Owen Keenan

Langhorne, Pa.

COURTESY OF ANTHONY SANCHEZ