It Can Happen Here
Maybe it already has
These are dangerous times.
Those who were raised in the United States were fed narratives for decades that what happened in Nazi Germany wouldn’t happen here. It was a fault of character in the Germans, a fault Americans would never have. In more recent decades, that’s shifted somewhat towards the line, “Look at all of those unstable governments around the world, those poor people. Fortunately the US could never look like that.”
After the violent insurrectionist attack on the US capital on Jan. 6, many Americans are struggling to dust themselves off after falling off that high horse. Some, even, appear to refuse to acknowledge that the US’ supposed monopoly on “democracy” has been something of a farce for a long time now.
After four years under Donald Trump, a record number of Americans turned out to the polls to vote last fall. While an overwhelming majority voted for Joe Biden (or against Trump, depending on who you ask), millions more voted for Trump in 2020 than they did in 2016. Yes, Trump ultimately lost (and the Democrats won Senate majority), but we cannot deny the fact that many millions of Americans found Trump’s xenophobic, racist, misogynistic, and openly violent actions and rhetoric not just acceptable, but something to vote for, a mentality worth endorsing.
Although Biden’s attempts at reaching out to these people – Republican congresspeople who went back into the Senate on Jan. 6 after the attack to protest the election results – is not just naive, it’s disturbing.
As I write, many thousands of Russians all around their country (not just Moscow and St. Petersburg) are going out into frigid weather to peacefully demonstrate against the systemic corruption and authoritarianism that plagues their government. Thousands of these people have faced brutal violence and jailing. While there is much to be said about these protests (and I will do so, perhaps in a separate piece), it’s a fascinating juxtaposition against what’s happening in the US.
The United States, if it is to restore global confidence in democracy, cannot continue to tolerate or even engage with what is unequivocally authoritarianism (and, not coincidentally, white supremacy). Doing so will not be easy or peaceful – fascists aren’t known for going down without a fight – but it must be done.
Yielding to militant right wing groups has never ended well. Yes, these are real people and our fellow citizens, but they have demonstrated that they have little interest in participating in a republican democracy. They do not believe in the Republic, and such people will foster the fall.
It can happen here. Perhaps it already has.