https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/how-save-democracy-trump
"The first few weeks of Donald Trump’s second presidency have accelerated a
process of democratic erosion in the United States. In just two months, the
president and his allies have issued executive orders of dubious
constitutionality, violated the civil protections of federal workers, impinged
on Congress’s powers over the budget, sidestepped and defied court rulings,
used the Justice Department to punish opponents and protect loyalists,
threatened to impeach judges who rule against the administration, weaponized
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and immigration law to imprison and
deport documented immigrants without due process, and allowed unappointed
individuals an unprecedented (and potentially illegal) level of access and
power over key agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development,
the Treasury Department, and the Education Department.
Democratic erosion has not progressed as far in the United States as it has in
many other countries, but that does not make the steps the Trump administration
has taken any less concerning. At a minimum, democracies should afford citizens
the opportunity to form and express their preferences and have them weighted
equally in government. To do so, citizens must enjoy individual rights such as
freedom of association, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement. Checks
and balances exist to guarantee those rights. They are meant to prevent abuses
that—under the guise of majoritarian support—could limit citizens’ ability to
participate in government on an equal footing. The Trump administration’s
willingness to bypass the law, defy courts, and weaponize state institutions to
punish opponents threatens that political participation and, in doing so,
threatens democracy.
For democracy to survive, it must be protected. In the past few decades, in
countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Poland, opposition groups
pushed back successfully against leaders with authoritarian tendencies early in
the process of democratic backsliding, when they still had institutional levers
to pull. But in other cases, such as Bolivia, El Salvador, Turkey, and
Venezuela, oppositions either failed to act with sufficient urgency or used
tactics that lost them their institutional levers, gradually hindering their
ability to resist.
In the United States, the opposition’s response to the threat so far has been
underwhelming. Reeling from electoral defeat and shocked by the blitz of the
Trump administration’s power grabs, politicians and civil society groups are
uncertain about the path forward and hesitant to take bold steps.
This delay is costly. If American democracy is to prevail, pro-democracy forces
must follow the handbook that has enabled oppositions to stop would-be
autocrats in other countries. They should coordinate to defend and expand their
institutional powers while they have them, wield them to obstruct Trump’s
authoritarian agenda, strengthen grassroots resistance efforts, and protect the
activists, officeholders, and other individuals exposed to retribution from the
administration. The alternative may be that democracy slips away while they
wait."
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
