“Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” (George Santayana) On Nov. 5, U.S. voters accomplished what Hitler and other dictators failed to do; they put U.S. democracy on the road to extinction. Those who are history-challenged could, for example, read about the Weimar Republic, which was created at the end of World War I and which died when Adolph Hitler became chancellor of Germany.
Weimar’s history illustrates the step-by-step process by which a democracy can be destroyed, e.g. by ridicule, intimidation, violence, murder, and silence. Those who point out the threats to democracy are accused of hyperbole and fear-mongering. Armed thugs, called brown shirts or black shirts (choose your country) are unleashed on the public where they maim and kill political opponents. The result is public anxiety, fear, and civic chaos. Those who continue to speak out are jailed, put in “re-education camps,” and if they continue, are killed. The result is a reign of terror and finally silence.
Those who believe that Trump will give up the presidency four years from now due to a term limitation law must ignore his previous attempts to keep power by encouraging his followers to besiege the nation’s capitol. In doing so they clashed with D.C. police, terrorized our elected representatives, while screaming “Kill Mike Pence!”
On Nov. 5, 2024 the gutter came to power.
Al Popowits
River Forest