There may be some optimists in American politics who still think the Constitutional democracy that was crafted by our founding fathers when they ratified the Constitition and created what is now the United States of America in 1789 is either functioning, or is salvageable. I'd like to be that optimistic, and while I do believe that American democracy may be salvageable after Trump, I think it is going to take a long time to repair the damage.
It's not all Trump's doing. The dismantling of the Constitution and the steps leading to this current flurry of activity in threatening what remains have been happening for quite some time, undermined by a whole series of events that have been set in motion, most of which have happened since the end of the Vietnam War in 1973, or which had already begun but started gaining traction around that time.
There's no doubt that Trump's approach to the Presidency is an existential threat to constitutional democracy. In his insanity, this ego driven, mentally deranged man acts as if there is no accountability for his actions and that the Presidency is a power for him to use to benefit himself. And so far, he's been right, since none of the safeguards and balance of power has worked to stop him, not because it can't, but because those who have the power to carry it out won't do it. He's insulated himself by appointing sycophants to his cabinet who are ignorant of the Constitution, incompetent at their job so they don't know how to do it, and loyal to him, and just enough corrupt judges to the court bench to get cases in their hands so nothing happens.
But ignorance of the Constitution, and a lack of interest in the politics that are part of the operation of any government is an American trait. There is an apathy among the population of this country that shows up in large numbers of people who don't bother to register and vote. And there's another segment that does show up in order to cast a vote in support of someone else's agenda, rather than do their own thinking. Being patriotic means more than wearing red, white and blue clothes on the Fourth of July, or wearing an American flag lapel pin. It requires taking the time to understand how government works in order to preserve democracy by participating in it as an educated voter, not an ignorant dumb ass.
We Lost Our Democracy in the Schools
At the heart of John Dewey's progressive education movement was a commitment to democracy and the idea that schools should be environments that foster critical thinking, social responsibility and the skills needed for active citizenship. Dewey believed that one of the primary purposes of education was to prepare students for active participation in a democratic society. Well, why not? Education up to a certain age or grade level was compulsory by the time Dewey began his education reforms by winning over to his progressive viewpoint colleges and universities which trained and certified teachers for the public school classrooms. And his movement helped to beef up the curriculum requirements in coursework which would lead students to become the informed and educated electorate necessary to maintain democracy.
It's not a coincidence that there is an anti-education bias that exists among political conservatives. Dewey's reforms were labelled "progressive" for a reason, because they represented progress made as the life skills learned in school were practically applied. In other words, they led to the opening of minds, and that looks like a lot of liberal politics of the left to those who are threatened by education that promotes freedom of conscience and practical application of knowledge rather than that which simply serves as philosophical indoctrination.
One of the logical outcomes of progressive education reform in the United States was the slow but certain elimination of an overwhelmingly Protestant Christian influence over the public education system. Dewey himself was an atheist, which made him appear to have a bias to those who had a conservative perspective, but he was able to correctly discern that the establishment clause of the Constitution prevented public institutions, such as taxpayer supported schools, from "establishing" or promoting religion, even if that religion was the predominant one practiced in the United States.
It is also not a coincidence that when the Republicans become the majority party, they take steps to cut the budgets for public education, out of fear that if it is done correctly, it will produce free thinkers who will use their critical thinking ability to resolve problems and as a result, strengthen the political power and influence of Democrats, both capital and small D, being all of those who see the practical application of a Constitution that elevates "we, the people" to the position of highest authority in a democratic republic.
We have the resources to build a world class public education system, one that spares no expense in providing students with everything they need, not only to develop the life skills they need to be productive and earn a living to support their family, but also to develop an attitude and political philosophy that recognizes and practices individual liberty, and protects freedom of conscience from the kind of control and influence imposed by those who fear living in a society where everyone is on a level playing field. Instead, education in America is generally deprived of resources that would cause its schools to rise to the level of excellence Dewey envisioned, and it loses its best teachers to frustration over this shortage that is aimed at achieving a political agenda, rather than an informed electorate.
That's due mostly to the Republican party, and there's plenty of evidence to support that claim. Otherwise, if they saw the benefits, the competition between the two parties for which one could deliver the most to keep public education moving forward would be visible.
We Lost Our Democracy in the Churches
One thing that is unmistakeable in the history of the United States of America is the pervasive influence of Christianity in American society and culture. I know, from comments that are left by readers, that there are those, especially on the left, who deny the veracity and claims of Christianity, and see all religious beliefs as inconsistent with the reality of a very real world. But denying the truthfulness of Christian theology and doctrine doesn't change the fact that this particular religion, particularly the Protestant branch of it, has had a profound impact on American history and politics.
The influence of the Christian churches in this country was, for most of its history, a sense of community and belonging that promoted and supported the values and principles which united the people following the American Revolution and upheld the principles of a "nation of laws" which strengthened the Constitution and made a positive contribution to the overall growth and development of the United States of America into a world superpower. For most of our history, the majority of Christian churches in this country saw promoting patriotism as part of the practice of their faith.
But Christianity has a long history of having been subverted by the temptation to use its influence to gain worldly, political power. The gospel writer Matthew gives a detailed description of the temptations of Jesus as an illustration of the kinds of things that can intrude into the church and subvert its mission and purpose, and there is a long, long history in Christianity of the institutional church being tempted by, and ultmately subverted by, worldly politics, and used to achieve the selfish ambitions of evil men.
The Apostle Jude, whose epistle is one of the shortest in the New Testament, warns againt the intrusion of "licentious" elements who intend to subvert the mission and purpose of the church. In the United States, this intrusion has come in the form of right wing extremism becoming united with a religious, legalistic fundamentalism, producing what we are now identifying as Christian nationalism, or the idea that the ultimate purposes and will of God will be achieved only when the church has complete control over the state. And they have somehow determined that God has chosen to use a morally bankrupt, mentally deranged, evil man who has openly rejected the Christian gospel and conversion, "flawed" being the term they use, to bring the United States to its white, Christian nationalist destiny.
That is diamentrically opposed to everything Jesus said when he compared the Christian gospel and its definition of "the Kingdom of God" to the human desire for, and temptation to the use of worldly, political power. The Christian church, when it is faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ, is one of the biggest safeguards of a democratically governed society. When it is corrupted by false doctrine and worldly ambition, it can become one of its biggest enemies.
We Lost Our Democracy When We Lost Our Free Press
It's really difficult to point to the moment in our history when we lost the free press. There are those who say that when some of the greatest journalists of the twentieth century, a matter of opinion but characterized by men like Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw, passed off the scene, so did the trust necessary for the media to function as a free press. Money buys whatever journalism exists in this century, and when journalists lose their jobs because of their insistence on protecting the standards of the business, and because they stand on principle, that's a good sign that parts of the Constitution are collapsing.
It's been a quick fall. If Richard Nixon had been given the sane-washing treatment, and had received the deference of the press in refusing to report his missteps, incompetence, and dictatorial tendencies, in the same way Trump has benefitted from those things, he would be looked at as one of the greatest Presidents of the twentieth century instead of the worst. What kind of a saint would have been created out of Lyndon Johnson, with the press softening his rough edges and covering up his mistakes?
The last President whose exposure to the scrutiny of the free press in the United States was Jimmy Carter. In spite of the fact that he was a genuinely good man, ranking up there in sincerity and honesty with some of the greatest who ever occupied the office, his politics were constantly criticized, including his inability to unite his own party, and his position was weakened considerably by the manner in which the media handled his dealing with the hostage crisis in Iran. They almost ran Reagan's campaign for election for him, and then, once he was elected, covered up the trail of inept moves and incompetence that very likely came from the fact that he was already suffering from old age dementia when he first entered office.
The mainstream media in this country is owned by the billionaires who benefit from the tax cuts Trump is planning to give them. They helped him into office in 2016, and then, when he lost in 2020, they engaged in a 24 hour a day, four year long campaign of as much free television coverage as any out of office President has ever received in history, to eke his way back in, covering up the cheating and suppression of voters that helped him narrowly get back in. They turned him into something he never was, and now, when he has to live up to those expectations, they cover it up because he can't.
How Do We Get Our Democracy Back?
It will not be easy, that's for sure, and I tend to side with those who are saying that since we hadn't really recovered from the damage of a first Trump Presidency, it will take years to recover from this one, if it is even possible. My biggest concern is whether there is even enough understanding left of what it really means to be a patriotic American to motivate enough people to work at it. I have my doubts, without a lot of support in place, that we can achieve and maintain a level of understanding of community and what we share in common as Americans which will allow us to rebuild what Trump has destroyed.
The fact that a deceitful con artist and dishonest grifter who has no redeeming personal qualities and who values nothing outside of pleasing his own self has been able to win two Presidential elections is the biggest piece of evidence suggesting that this country no longer has an educated and informed electorate. It will take decades to repair that damage, if it can even be repaired. Americans don't seem to like to think for themselves.
At the present time, my level of confidence in the politicians who occupy elected office in this country is very low. The Republicans are beneath contempt. But Democrats are far behind the curve. Their biggest interest, from what they are showing us, is raising money to run individual campaigns to keep the jobs they have. There is some interest being shown in those of us who are resisting the con artist grifter, more because of how it would look if they didn't than out of any real conviction. But I don't see anyone out there who is really interested in fighting for my interests.
As a consequence, I have limited my contributions and support to those who seem to be more interested in getting something done than in advancing their re-election cause. Indivisible gets a share, as does David Hogg's "Leaders We Deserve." And I've given regularly to Bernie Sanders "Fight the Oligarchy" tour. These are people who demonstrate a realistic idea of what is going on, and how to fight against it. I'm convinced they know what they are doing and they are on to something because they are attracting a lot of attention themselves, and they are getting attacked by the status quo. There's no more convincing evidence than that.
We already gave up the best opportunity we will ever have to keep this from happening, by listening to the status quo, and being afraid to make the kind of bold, risky moves that we could have taken when we had control of the Presidency and both houses of Congress. And I don't care what groundwork has been laid by Republicans for decades to put this agenda on the table, what we didn't get done, because we were afraid to look political and upset the old school traditions and the old guard politicians is on us. We showed up at a blazing gunfight with a pocketknife.
The entire American system of public education needs to be completely reformed. And don't whine about that statement, because there is a plethora of evidence to underline this need. It's been broken for a long time, largely because while we demand that students be at the top of the honors list to become a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or engineer, we don't encourage our best and brightest to be teachers, and as a result, we don't have teachers who are our best and brightest.
Churches that have lost their own values, and turned against everything the United States stands for need to pay the price for that decision. Some are experiencing large losses of membership and money, the two things they were after, as a result. Well, that needs to continue.
I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but preserving our democracy is difficult work, and it hasn't been done for a while, so we need to catch up. Right now, Democrats, who are supposed to be the most ardent supporters of democracy, are looking at a 26% job approval rating, well below where the Republicans are, and we are 16 months out from a must-win in both houses midterm election. And no one is stepping up to take leadership responsibility, a few risks and exhibit some boldness.
Our best hope right now is that Trump will self destruct, by impaling himself on support for bills like the one they passed today. Are Americans who don't like this bill and will be hurt by it still stupid enough to vote for the GOP to stay in power? That will be the true test of whether or not we still have a chance at preserving and protecting our democracy.
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