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President Donald Trump
Beating Back Trump's Threat to US Democracy
This erstwhile emperor has no clothes
Posted August 10, 2016
Democracy is a precious, but historically infrequent and perilously fragile method of governance.
Athens initiated the practice of democracy, but its brief experiment with it turned out to be a failure. The people were seduced by demagogues into disastrous decisions during the Peloponnesian War that led to defeat at the hands of autocratic, better organized Sparta. Plato believed democracy to be so unworkable an institution that he banned it from his ideal Republic.
What passed for democracy in ancient Rome suffered a similar fate. Julius Caesar's demagoguery led to his assassination and 500 years of rule by imperial edict.
When forerunners of western democracy began emerging 400 years ago, the philosophers Hobbes and Vico both predicted they would inevitably lead to chaos and a return to all powerful central control.
There is an old Islamic quotation expressing an identical concern: "Better one hundred years of the Sultan's tyranny than one year of people's tyranny over each other."
The last 300 years have proved democracy to be the very best of governments when it works well, the very worst when bedeviled by divisiveness, disorganization, and corruption. The world now contains dozens of failed "democracies" verging on civil war and/or totalitarian takeover.
With the exception of our own brutal Civil War, US democracy has seemed a charmed bedrock of stability- surviving mass migrations, periodic depressions, and stark economic inequality.
That was before Trump. He may be no more than a blowhard and buffoon, but Trump is no joke. He has embodied and unleashed forces that seriously undermine the fundamental principles of our democracy.
• Disregard for the rule of law: Trump markets himself as the law and order candidate, but has displayed a regal contempt for law whenever it contradicts his interests, impulses, whims, and grudges. He feels entitled to squash critical press, throttle judges who don't see things his way, force the military to torture in violation of international law, break treaty obligations, and welch on our national debt (just as he has repeatedly welched on his business debts, and so on. Trump doesn't understand or respect the delicate balances built into our constitution and would feel no compunction whatever in distorting them out of all recognition.
• Incompetence: Democracies historically fail when they make egregiously bad decisions, or suffer from a paralysis of indecision, that leads to chaos and hostile takeover by a strongman. Trump's campaign has displayed not only his breathtaking ignorance, but also his disorganizational blundering, and toleration of people who are equally ignorant and equally disorganized. Our country already suffers from a widespread distrust in government and paralytic political divisiveness that prevents passage of even the most urgently needed legislation. A Trump administration would realize the worst fears that democratic government no longer works and would create a vacuum to be filled by someone who can make the trains run on time.
• Cult of personality: Trump offers no policy solutions to America's problems and challenges; instead, he offers himself as a kind of magical elixir to "make America great again." Only he can swing the magic wand that will bring back jobs, control crime, destroy ISIS, wipe out debt, end civil wars, and earn the world's universal respect. Fortunately, for our democracy, Trump is selling a particularly unappealing personality that repels many more people than it attracts. But, unfortunately for our democracy, the success he has achieved, despite his vulgarity, paves the way for some future personality cult built around a demagogue who is smoother, smarter, more controlled, and less obviously obnoxious.
• Willingness to challenge the peaceful transition of power. The US has had its share of bitterly contested, perilously close elections, but previous losers (most recently Nixon and Gore) have had the good grace to place the public interest in a clear result over personal peeve and disappointment. Not so Trump. He is already claiming, on absolutely no evidence, that if he loses this election, it must have been rigged. One of his closest followers has even promised a bloodbath if Clinton is declared the winner. To avoid civil strife, democracy requires governmental legitimacy and an orderly transition of power. Trump carelessly threatens both.
• Impulsivity: The founding fathers labored hard to forge a Constitution incorporating checks and balances that require patient deliberation and restrain the power of any one individual or institution to make quick and potentially dangerous decisions. Trump has no respect or capacity for self control, lacks any personal filter, and routinely incites others to impulsive, aggressive action. His casual (and hopefully joking) suggestion that Hillary Clinton be assassinated by second amendment fanatics is just the latest in an endless series of mindless provocations, completely inappropriate for someone aspiring to a position responsible for domestic tranquility and controlling the nuclear button. It is easy to envision Trump sending troops abroad on a personal whim or encouraging paramilitary action by his heavily armed followers.
Forty-five years ago, US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, and Chinese Prime Minister, Zhou Enlai, had a fascinating conversation during the getting-to-know-you stage of their new relationship. When Kissinger asked Zhou about his evaluation of the French Revolution, Zhou replied: "Too soon to tell." It is still too soon to tell how enduring is the US experiment in democracy.
Abraham Lincoln understood better than anyone the constant effort required "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." He understood the Civil War to be a test "whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."
In the long, grand, but merciless sweep of history, our nation is young and still largely untried and untested. If we cannot resist the blandishments of a fool like Trump during our time of relative prosperity and safety, how will we fare when seduced by a more convincing "savior" during some future time of economic, security, or natural disaster.
Making America Great Again means making us much more resistant to the tricks of would-be tyrants, much more protective of our hard won and long cherished freedoms. Debunking Trump and other erstwhile emperors without cloths is a vital part of growing up as a nation.
This is not a typical presidential election, with plausible arguments possible both for and against each side. And Trump is not just an ordinarily bad choice for president. Instead, he represents an unprecedented threat to the future of democracy and must be treated as such.
It is not enough that Trump be beaten; equally important, Trumpism must be repudiated by the largest margin of victory in popular vote in American history.
This is a time that tries the souls of responsible Republicans. Should they vote loyalty to party or vote loyalty to our country and its democratic values. They are smart enough to know that Trump is dangerous; the question is whether they will be unselfish and honest enough to stop him.
This is also a time that tries the souls of all voters.
If the election is close, Trump and what he stands for won't go away. The defeat to him and to his twisted values must be overwhelming and unmistakable. We don't want to have to face this kind of threat to democracy every four years. The fundamental question is whether Trump's vulgarity represents a bottom that will trigger a return to political civility or are we seeing the unraveling of our democracy?
