This is why I am very concerned about our democracy

In 1972 I was a student at George Washington University. That was the year of a presidential election. Richard Nixon won the election. Our student population was very concerned. One night at the very Republican F Street club, there was a celebration. Bob Hope was the headliner. He came out front and performed for a largely democratic student population and hor d’oeuvres were passed around. There were jokes, assurances that we need not worry, that our politics may be different but we all wanted the same democratic protections. We felt better.

Then I was worried about George W. Bush because of his demeanor and political positions, but he actually showed, as all Republican Presidents during my life thus far, respect for the law of this land and the fundamentals of democracy. I think back to Ronald Reagan who showed compassion and concern for all of us as Americans. Again, I did not agree with all of his politics but understood that he was really trying to do what was right in terms of his belief system and that of those who supported him.

In terms of full disclosure, as I believe strongly in the separation of church and state, rights for all people regardless of gender, sexuality, color, nationality or ethnicity, and have been willing to pay more taxes for support systems for those who need it, I have been a life-long democrat. HOWEVER, there have been instances when I voted for a Republican candidate if I felt they were the most qualified and best candidate, because I had faith that each of these people did believe in the nature and characteristics of our special democracy. That is until now, and this is why I am scared.

Consider that research has recently focused on countries that supposedly or actually use democratic elections to end democracy. In the New York Times, Amanda Taub observed as follows in April, 2017.

The recent referendum in Turkey, in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed a narrow majority of votes to expand his presidential authority, is the latest example of a puzzling phenomenon: Democratically elected leaders who triumph in elections even as they move toward autocracy by undermining checks and balances and consolidating power.

Today, the most common way for a democracy to collapse is through the actions of an elected incumbent, not a coup or revolution. Hugo Chávez, elected to four terms as president of Venezuela, used his time in office to dismantle the institutions of Venezuelan democracy and expand his own authority…

This phenomenon, which experts call “authoritarianization,”highlights a deep vulnerability built into the structure of democracy itself. Once in power, unscrupulous leaders can sometimes manipulate the political environment to their own benefit, making it more likely that they will be victorious in future contests. By winning those elections, they gain the stamp of democratic legitimacy — even for actions that ultimately undermine democratic norms.

Manipulating and winning elections has become a kind of exploit in the rules of political legitimacy — a way for would-be autocrats to hack the system.

Source https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/18/world/europe/how-autocrats-can-triumph-in-democratic-countries.html

Similar dynamics have taken place in Russia, many South African countries, Eastern Asia, and throughout the world. The most concerning dynamic that is now being examined is how what appears to be democratic process is being manipulated to end democracy and turn countries into a quasi- or direct dictatorships. This occurs when candidates do not show respect for the law of the land and claim they will use whatever means possible to serve their own purposes. What follows are examples of such statements made by these candidates and leaders in different countries:

“….my commitment is to Hungary not having significant minorities with different cultural characteristics and backgrounds among its citizens.” Stated by Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán

“As for the proposal to lift restrictions for any person, any citizen, including the incumbent president, to allow running in future elections ... this option is possible,” Stated by Vladimir Putin, in support of bypassing previous elements of the constitution and extending his rule until 2036 possibly.

"The person who wrote this story will pay a heavy price for it; I won't let him go unpunished." Stated by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan is seeking a sentence of life imprisonment for the journalist, Can Dundar.

The Prisoners Are Also the Guards: Everyone is required to join a "loyalty"-enforcing "mass organization," such as the "Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League." Because North Korean society is designed to be so fiercely competitive, and because that competition doesn't mean doing a better job so much as sniffing out "ideological impurity" both at work and at home, you've got to be willing to turn against your neighbor just to survive. Any North Korean who wants a good chance at feeding their family must join the state's efforts "maintain ideological discipline" and "provide another surveillance mechanism for state security." About one out of every 25 married women, for example, are recruited into the inminban "neighborhood units" that are expected to openly spy on their friends and family and to sniff out enemies, whether they exist or not; failure to produce makes you suspect. Everyone is an informer and an enforcer, doing Kim Jong Un's work for him.

Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/defying-history-how-kim-jong-un-could-hold-onto-power-for-decades/260744/?gclid=CjwKCAjw8MD7BRArEiwAGZsrBQjqb_G8yFj8lc9QBpO38lWnkYQnAH6aCdbvPtYE0S5mZ58hSLv5qRoCVK0QAvD_BwE While this is not a direct qute ut a narrative, it has been fact checked and is accurate.

Make the lie big. Make it simple. Keep saying it, and eventually people will believe it. Stated by Adolf Hitler.

There is no state with a democracy except Libya on the whole planet. Stated by Muammar Gaddafi

I could go on and on. Threatening the protection of the free press, ignoring the oppression of various groups while claiming rights for the privileged, statements that we do not want people in our country who are “different than us” – whoever the “us” is, threatening to not abide by elections or just rendering them non-consequential, calling one’s ruled entity the best or the only true democracy and other such comments go against the grain of everything these United States of America stand for. This is what scares me and it should instill fear in all of us – women; people of different faith communities including Muslims and Jews, both groups having experienced greater degrees of persecution and oppression in recent years; people of color and different ethnicities and racial groupings; immigrants and people from different national origins; our own native or First Americans, LGBTQ individuals, different socio-economic groupings, and so on. Do you have friends, family, people you love who re or fit into any of these categories? Do you truly understand what happens when a democracy slips into autocratic government? Do you realize how often this has happened? Do you yourself as a child or grandchild or great-grandchild of victims of Nazi Germany, the Stalinist regime, the immigrants who have escaped lands of oppression and persecution understand what is at stake in our democracy at present?

There have been presidential elections in the past where I was not thrilled with either candidate but I voted and if the other candidate won, I at least knew that the parameters of our constitutional democracy would protect me. Are we that comfortable at this point? If nothing else, we need to vote for the candidate who respects the law, who cares about EVERY American, the one who knows that we all share some responsibility to help those who do not have as much privilege and that we must continue to agree to disagree while abiding by the fundamental constitutional elements that make our country the democracy it is and MUST continue to be.