The anniversary in March came and went without a peep.

It was in March 1936 that George Gallup did his first public opinion survey, and little did he know at the time the Frankenstein he was foisting on our political process, but that will be left for another day and time.

One thing we do know is that, at that moment in history, had he asked the question, “What is the most urgent issue facing this nation?,” he never would have found almost one out of five citizens expressing their fears over the state of the country’s democracy.

In those pre-World War II days, as war clouds were mushrooming on the horizon, the United States of America was truly that … united.

To be sure, there were disgruntled members of the society, but, for the most part, the Office of the President was respected, and a majority felt democracy was not at risk.

Oh, my, how times have changed.

When a university out east did its usual bang-up job of taking the pulse of the country, the researchers at Quinnipiac found that the economy was still the number-one concern, but there in third place, behind immigration, was the big D, and there was no gender or ethnic divide on the fear over the state of that democracy.

Nineteen percent of women and 18% of males felt democracy was in peril, and 20% of the whites and 19% of the African Americans concurred.

However, a deeper dive in the data uncovered a deeper divide based on education, age, and political leanings.

The most glaring divide was within the education voting subgroup. Thirty percent of college grads feared for the future of democracy, while half as many (14%) shared the concern from the ranks of those without a higher education.

Make of that what you will.

On a positive note, when asked if democracy today was working, 46% said yes and 49% said no, and, frankly, many felt the “no” number would be much larger.

By a 66%-to-31% margin, self-described Democrats felt democracy was working, compared to a 62%-to-33% split among Republicans. Independents split it about down the middle, at 45% to 49%.

But, on the more critical question about their concerns for the future, a huge disagreement was evident.

Now 32% of Democrats have concerns, but only 5% of the Republicans are in there with the Democrats. Nineteen percent of independents have apprehensions.

And the age gap is pretty obvious, as only one out of 10 of those between 18 and 34 aren’t fretting, compared to their senior fellow voters older than 65, who come in at almost three times the younger generation, as 27% are worried. Those 35 to 49 years old are in at 16%. And those 50 to 64? They are at 21%.

So, you may be thinking at this juncture, so what?

First of all, all indicators point to a razor-thin margin of victory for whomever wins the White House, and those who worry about democracy could provide the margin of victory. That’s assuming that those who worry about the economy and immigration are already supporting Donald Trump.

So one theory suggests that, if the independents and moderate Republicans break toward Joe Biden on the democracy issue, he could win.

The polling found that 48% of the electorate believe the current president is better equipped to “preserve” the democracy, compared to 44% who conclude democracy is in better hands with Trump.

Beyond the political presidential implications on where democracy is headed, more importantly, the debate over that could be one of those turning-point times in this country’s rich and checkered history, where what the electorate does now will have far-reaching ramifications for the future.

And you might find this reassuring: 68% at this moment do not believe democracy will end in their lifetime.

The question for you all to ponder is, how long do you expect to live?