Democracy has long been America’s preferred way to pantomime a moral compass. The reality is, too many white “patriots” are so bereft of compassion and reason that the default response to Black Lives Matter is fear, suspicion and aggression. Why doesn’t democracy apply to us?

Authoritarianism is on our doorsteps and white “patriots” invited it in, because they’re so conditioned to upholding oppressive systems of power. The foreign adversaries undermining American democracy are smart enough to target and exploit race, because they know white people

would rather watch this country burn than confront itself in the mirror when it comes to racism.