Celebrating and supporting democracy

A quick quiz. Name two countries bravely fighting to protect their democracies from invasion by an autocratic neighbor. Can you name just one? The only one that comes to my mind is Ukraine.

After nearly four years of intense warfare (11 years total), facing a country of land mass 8.3 times as large and a population 3.7 times their own, the Ukrainian people bravely fight on, holding their powerful adversary to essentially a stalemate, although at great cost. They strongly believe in their people, culture, country, and the principles of democracy.

Other western democracies, mainly through NATO, have provided some support, but timidly, tentatively, on the edge of too little, too late. Ukraine is forced to beg for material support while sacrificing its troops and citizens in defense of itself, and indirectly, all other democracies.

The 2025 V-Dem Report, published by the University of Gothenburg, indicates that, for the first time, the number of autocratic countries exceeds the number of democratic countries. In 2024, there were 91 democratic and 88 autocratic. In 2025 that flipped, with 88 democratic and 91 autocratic. Given the size of some autocratic countries like China and Russia, it is not a surprise that more people live under autocratic rule than live under democratic, but the split of 72% and 12% should be of concern to us all.

On Nov. 16, PBS aired new Ken Burns 6-part series, “American Revolution.” (All episodes are streaming free at pbs.org) Burns’ highly-acclaimed “The Civil War” transfixed viewers with the photographic documentation of the carnage. This time, he’s telling the story of our revolution with an absolute absence of photographic material.

As school children we learned the simplified narrative of a professional English army of ”Redcoats” bested by a ragtag assemblage of farmer patriots on their way to establishing a democracy. Casualty figures indicate that almost as many men supported the English as did the Americans. Women played a major role. Many classes and races were involved, including freed slaves and Native Americans.

Our eventual success was in no small part due to the intervention of France, a superpower of the day, providing supplies, weapons, and a fleet to blockade ports supporting the English.

After several years you can only describe as “dithering,” what if the democracies of the world united in a serious surge of support for Ukraine, providing a serious quantity and quality of military materials, actually putting some backbone into the effort? Could this be a true role of democracies actively supporting democracy? I like to think so.

As to NATO membership for Ukraine, which of the existing NATO members have the experience, geographical location, and resolve to be a better member?

As we prepare to observe 250 years of America, let us consider whether we should be celebrating only our own good fortune, or recommitting to ensuring the opportunities of democracy to our neighbors around the world.

Gregg Stark is a graduate of Iowa Wesleyan College and a U.S. Navy veteran who retired from manufacturing management. He lives in Cedar Rapids.