Stop Talking As If There Is Nothing We Can Do to Save American Democracy
American democracy is now in mortal danger. Even as our country undergoes rapid social progress, embracing LGBTQ rights and protesting police brutality against Black Americans in historic numbers, Republicans are orchestrating an electoral coup to seize permanent control over our federal government through election rigging tactics such as gerrymandering, voter suppression, and refusing to certify election results. Americans' desires for a more just and equal society have grown bold, but so have the authoritarian ambitions of Republican politicians plotting to steal this future away from us. The question is, will we let them?
In times like these, it is tempting to rest easy, thinking that powerful entities such as congress, the courts, law enforcement, corporations, or the military may take some bold action to save American democracy. This thinking however, is gravely mistaken. Particularly as conservative Democratic senators double down on obstructing their party from passing the legislation needed to prevent at least some Republican election rigging activities. There is little evidence that any of these powerful institutions will be taking meaningful action in defense of our Democracy.
Let us not forget the years Americans spent optimistically awaiting the results of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Donald Trump’s criminal activities, only to have next to nothing come of it in the end. We must reject such false heroes and political comfort oriented thinking, instead focusing our efforts on what we can do, as individuals and as a society, to protect American democracy. Never be convinced that you are powerless to confront the rise of authoritarianism, to defraud a people of their own power is the dictator’s greatest con. Do not assume that an undemocratic seizure of government by Republicans would simply be the end.
Too often discussions around the fate of American democracy leave us feeling powerless. It is understandable given the circumstances, but the fortunate truth is that there are a broad range of things ordinary people can do to stand up to tyrants, even after they have successfully seized power. In our case, this kind of civil resistance will be absolutely essential in protecting American democracy. Never before have populations had at their disposal more knowledge about how to fight back against authoritarianism.
Mass nonviolent action by citizens has successfully restored democracy in other countries where authoritarian coups have been attempted. The American public holds democracy as a core value and when the truth spreads about what Republicans are doing, massive numbers will likely rise to challenge their illegitimate rule. But that all depends on our willingness to do so. The time to start organizing a pro-democracy resistance is now, coups stand a lower chance of succeeding if they are met with well organized opposition. At the moment, the most important thing is for the public to fully understand the situation we are in and begin coming together to form such a resistance movement.
It is rather hard to accept the surreal situation we are in. One of the country’s two major political parties has declared war on democracy, and is currently carrying out a slow motion coup to seize permanent control of our federal government by warping electoral law in their favor. But if we are to do anything in defense of democracy, we must accept this reality. Just as we must accept that conventional political actions such as voting, calling representatives, and conventional campaigning will not be enough to stop the deadly rise of authoritarianism in America.
It can be difficult shifting into the mindset of it being necessary to use nonviolent anti-authoritarian tactics of the sort which have brought down dictatorships elsewhere in the world here in the US. It is easy to get stuck thinking “It cannot happen here”, when in reality, it is already happening here. In situations like these, one of the first steps in stripping an undemocratically elected government of power is to declare it illegitimate, spreading this idea among the pro-democracy population. Even this can seem strange, partially because it sounds a lot like what Trump supporters say of Biden. The difference, of course, is which of these narratives is factually accurate. Authoritarians have often used the tactic of falsely saying their enemies are rigging elections as an excuse for their own election cheating activities. We cannot hesitate to speak honestly and openly about what Republicans are doing.
No matter how bad things get, never give up on the idea that democracy can still prevail. The article linked below describes some strategies on how a nonviolent pro-democracy campaign could work in the United States.
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