Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. Photo: USA TODAY esterday's riots in the U.S. Capitol jolted many, the world over, to the fact that democracy is indeed fragile and can easily be lost or destroyed. When demonstrators overwhelmed the police and broke into the Senate and House chambers to overturn the November elections results, America came as close to a coup as anyone alive can remember. If America had less robust democratic institutions, things could have easily gone the other way. It seems that all it takes is a tyrant, and you suddenly have legions of followers ready to believe and follow whatever they are told. In a way, this may explain why thousands of ordinary Germans became rabid Nazi followers of Adolph Hitler. Closer to home, it also explains why thousands of Filipinos supported Ferdinand Marcos during the '70s and '80s. People who are born into, or grow up in a democracy, appear to take it for granted. They see their freedoms and rights as a given that will always be there. Unfortunately, that Pollyannaish and naive outlook is giving way to a more nuanced perspective across the globe. The rise in authoritarianism around the world, coupled with the use of new technologies to spy on private citizens, undermines the privacy and freedom democracies need to survive. Americans should be grateful for the robustness of the democratic institutions their founding fathers had the foresight to create almost two and a half centuries ago. And yet, America came very close to losing it all. A determined tyrant with a band of loyal fanatics can overpower a democracy, especially when the rest of the citizenry remains uninvolved. Given this disturbing trend, liberal democracies everywhere need to band together and promote democracy across the globe. When asked what form of government they had created, Benjamin Franklin, one of America's founding fathers, replied: "a republic if you can keep it." Democracy is indeed fragile, and the utmost care is needed to keep it alive and thriving. Published 1/8/2021