It is easy to think that because American democracy has been successful for more than 200 years that it will continue strong in the future. After all, we survived a Civil War, won two World Wars and continue to offer a beacon to oppressed people around the world.
But democracy in America is at risk — not from a cataclysm such as a civil uprising or military coup but from a continuous degradation of democratic institutions by the very people who should be most vigilant about preserving it. In other words, we are at risk of losing our precious form of government from a death by a thousand cuts not by foreign powers but from those whom we have chosen to lead us. In particular, I am talking about President Trump and his enablers in the U.S. Senate.
At the top of the list is the president’s belief that he and his staff members are above the law. For example, he has told staff members to ignore legitimate subpoenas from Congress, especially the House. If you or I were to ignore a subpoena, we would face a charge of contempt and could be fined or jailed. Yet the administration sees any legitimate attempt by Congress to fulfill its constitutionally mandated responsibility to oversee the administration as just so much needless harassment or meddling.
Another example: presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway has been repeatedly warned about violating the federal Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from doing political work during their regular workday. The president says the Hatch Act restricts Conway’s freedom of speech. But he is clearly wrong. The act does not restrict anyone’s right to express political opinions to engage in political activities. It just says government employees should do these activities outside their regular working hours. Our local officials have no problem following this kind of sensible guideline, so why does the administration see a need to flout the law?
As we near the time to conduct the 2020 Census, another constitutional mandate, the president has said he will order the Census Bureau to include a question about citizenship even though numerous experts on survey techniques have said it will discourage participation by many immigrants and in light of the fact that including the question is designed to reduce the number of nonwhites counted, thus enhancing the power of white residents.
Finally, the president has said he would accept information from foreign sources about potential electoral opponents, even though federal law specifically prohibits candidates from accepting anything of substance or value from foreign sources.
This series of action poses an extraordinary challenge to American democracy. It appears the president feels he is above the law and not subject to it. This is the kind of behavior we see in tyrants such as Kim Jong Un of North Korea or Russia’s Vladimir Putin. We should expect better from an American president. The president should stand as a stellar example of American democracy, not as someone who is willing, even eager, to trample this sacred tradition in order to further his own personal aggrandizement.
Regardless of your politics, this behavior should alarm you. It will continue until Americans across the board — Republicans as well as Democrats and independents — demand that it stop. We must all work to save American democracy before it is too late and we are forced to ask, “How did this happen?”
