Gormley: When both old and new democracies crumble, we all grieve

When something is mourned, grief is felt for one of two things: the loss of what was, and the loss of what might have been. The slow death of Western liberal democracy inspires both types of bereavement.
On its own, each symptom wracking the American republic is painful; together, maybe lethal. The president has reportedly committed hundreds of millions of dollars of tax fraud. He has declared bankruptcy. He has bragged about sexually assaulting women. He has been accused of sexual assault by mu