Granderson: If we want Russia to free Brittney Griner, Americans must show some principles ourselves
LA TimesAsadullah Haroon Gul went home last week. Just as the Supreme Court was threatening half a century of progress on human rights as it overturned Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. also took time to remind the world that: 1. the greatest democracy on the planet was almost killed off by a former reality TV host, and 2. we’ve kept a man in prison for 15 years without a trial. The world hears our voice, but it Keeping a prisoner detained for 15 years without a trial is more than just a bad look: It’s the antithesis of who we say we are. A Pew Research Center poll last year found that people in only 17% of advanced economies say democracy in the U.S. “is a good example for others to follow.” The rest of the developed world either thinks the U.S. “used to be a good example but has not been in recent years” or believes we never were. Despite the United States’ response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the two nations did manage a prisoner swap that enabled a former Marine, Trevor Reed, to come home in April.