BETHLEHEM, Pa. – As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, democracy remains fundamentally healthy but faces significant structural challenges that require attention, according to the latest episode of Lehigh Valley Political Pulse.
Speaking with host Tom Shortell, Lehigh University political scientist Christopher Borick likened the nation's democratic system to a patient undergoing a medical checkup.
"You know, some of the vitals are good," Borick said. "Some of the things that doctors would say you could work on... I think there’s versions of that we might apply to American democracy.”
Borick said the country's elections remain sound overall but pointed to concerns including political violence, partisan gerrymandering and declining confidence in democratic institutions.
"If elections are like the heart of a democracy and they kind of drive it, the heart's beating," Borick said. “Can it be more efficient, like a heart? A heart, you know, can get a little clogged.”
Borick reserved some of his strongest criticism for Congress, calling it one of the least effective institutions in modern American history.
"You look at something like the United States Congress, and you think, is it functioning in the way you'd want an organ to function?" he said. "I'd say, absolutely not."
He suggested constitutional reforms addressing partisan gerrymandering, expanding participation in primary elections and guaranteeing voter identification while ensuring all Americans have access to it.
The conversation also shifted to public health, where Borick said the United States has made enormous progress through preventive measures such as vaccines and improved sanitation but continues to struggle with chronic health issues and mental health challenges.
On Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" agenda, Borick said Kennedy correctly identifies problems related to diet and physical activity but criticized some of his positions on vaccines.
"I think as he diagnoses those real problems, some of the things that he's also diagnosed lack the evidence, the epidemiological studies to point to them as the underlying problems," Borick said. "Frankly, they often contradict the evidence."
Borick also highlighted rising rates of loneliness and mental health challenges, particularly among younger Americans, arguing that stronger community connections would benefit both public health and democracy.
"I think a healthy democracy is one that we need people to have more unity, more binding, more commonalities," Borick said. "I don't know if there's constitutional solutions for that."
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