https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/biden-just-did-it-he-put-democracy-on.html
I prefer to call those aspiring to be anti-democracy rulers as wannabe tyrants. Tyrants were the name our founders gave to kings and Turkish potentates. There is nothing wrong with those tags. They may be an appropriate description of power hungry politician. The political messaging problem is that it assumes a level of sophistication and understanding of what defines those analogies or even the ability to comprehend the meaning of the term"liberal democracy". Those brands are subsets of the proven winning phrase that embraces all of these words: "democracy is on the ballot". It did get significant traction in the 2022 midterms.New Polling Shows Democracy Mattered In The 2022 Midterms | HuffPost Latest News Democracy-Related Ballot Measures in 2022 – and A Look Ahead – State Democracy Research Initiative – UW–Madison (wisc.edu)
Branding with short punches is a time-honored political tool. After the 2022 midterms. the right wing and their mouthpieces have invented the brand "anti-woke" and stuck the "woke" on those who support the individual rights implications of our democracy, as if "woke" was a dirty word. It is yet to be seen if this catches on in all but the MAGA types, but it does serve as a shorthand for words spoken in the public that otherwise might be considered inflammatory and politically incorrect.
There are some so devoted to loyalty to a leader like Trump that are questioning whether democracy should be continued since it stands in the way of his winning. Trump is making it no secret he wanted to scrap the Constitution in the wake of his loss in 2020. It may cheer the MAGA heart, but the blowback when he uttered such words caused him to take back his words. Trump insists he doesn’t want to ‘terminate’ Constitution | The Hill It was more than a Freudian slip.. Trump may lie about much, but his vision and keeping promises are consistently proposed and instituted whenever he can get away with them in practice. We at minimum know what he wished. In short, whatever you call it, they, the Trump followers, lust for an authoritarian to lead them. The word democracy still has a good ring, but there are those who think absolute control by the majority is democracy. Dictatorship by those who represent minority views over the majority is also not democracy. . Or at least it still is true with the American brand of democracy that it contains the protection of the rights of those who are not in the majority or do not have the power to rule. Not only were these protections written into the amendments to the Constitution, but the keys to power were also divided among three branches, each with some power over the other. That only works so long as each branch is not controlled by the power of one dictator who manages to put his loyalists in charge. These are the blessings of liberty our founders hoped would flow to future generations. These are the freedoms our brand of democracy provides that used to be died for by Americans on the battlefields of world wars. Whatever has happened to us?
. So what is this "democracy" for which so many died? What is "freedom" we claim to want and protect? The American style of democracy means that those who are not the majority still have rights that give them hope they can eventually be the majority, too. Diversity is the real enemy of wannabe tyrants, especially if those in the minority still have rights, the rule of law still rules, and the ability to be heard remains in place. That is good news for the US. Those who are in the minority still have rights since the rule of laws protecting them is upheld by the judicial system. It also bodes ill for a vocal minority that supports policies that are wildly unpopular but are attempting to force the majority to accept them, such as extreme anti-abortion laws and ignoring gun safety measures.
It seems unbelievable we need to make the case for democracy in order to contrast it with the anti-democracy alternatives. However, in every generation, the case for democracy needs to be dusted off and rephrased because so many have forgotten how it benefits them. Even with its failures to live up to the idealism of our founders, we can still strive for this more perfect union so long as small d democracy survives.
My own case for democracy is based on the reason for the American Revolution and the ability to be free to pursue life and happiness in a country treated with consideration and fairness even those they oppose. This is the way to live in a stable, tranquil society with the hope staying alive the future can be better. So long as that hope lives, so will democracy.
Here is what history has shown us: Failure of democracy begins with the subversion of civil rights and human rights, refusing to abide by or respect the rule of law, and being loyal to a person instead. In the long term, unchallenged dictators who have gained control of all means of governing and thought/speech control get there by destroying their opposition and continuing in power by keeping up the oppression of those who oppose them. The rights of the minority are helped by a government that has divided the three elements of political power, executive, legislative, and judicial, into power centers with checks on each other, making it hard for wannabe dictators to take over total control of all three branches. There is a misconception that democracy means total control by the majority, or worse, the minority controls the majority. So long as the opposition still has protections under the laws, real democracy happens. It is why when those who want total power in Russia, Turkey, and Hungary begin by replacing those in the governing power centers with their appointees or rig elections to get their choices elected. Without the checks and balances and protection of those who may be in the opposition to the wannabe tyrant, it is easy. It is also easier when there is an overwhelming percentage of citizens of the same or related cultural, religious, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds, as was the case in Russia, Turkey, and Hungary in recent times and in Germany in the 1930s... To make their assent to total power even easier once their control of the three branches is consolidated, tyrants then proceed to wipe out the remaining challengers by imprisoning on trumped-up charges, cheating in election processes, and causing mysterious deaths by poison or "accidental" fall from high-rise balconies. Control over the media is also essential to a tyrant's climb to power. Once in control of the major media organs, they continue to power consolidation by oppressing or not reporting all the news that happens and just reporting what makes the wannabe tyrant look good. What is going on below the surface is covered iup by lies. and suppression of "bad news". This process is insidious and may take years and happens while those in the populace minority are asleep at the wheel or a majority are in cahoots offering moral support thinking it is "no skin off our backs" what the tyrant is doing and think the wannabe tyrant channels their own thoughts. That works until the wannabe tyrant goes too far... By the time the disillusioned supporters wake up, it is too late; they have no peaceful way to regain power other than violence and taking to the streets. Where this who process goes off the rail for the wannabe tyrant is where there are large, organized oppositions based upon economic self-interest or racial, cultural, and ethnic identification. . No wonder those who aspire to be powerful are anti-woke... They often think wrongly they have killed off any hopes of those who oppose them. Once the masses have taken enough of oppression, their hope lies in a revolution, violent, bloody, or orange and peaceful that results in either the death or exile of the dictator. It is painful and deadly. It destroys economies, kills many, and it takes decades to recover. In other instances, dictators who surround themselves with loyalists and control what their citizens hear lose a sense of reality, launch military excursions to divert attention from the discontent, and lose wars, their lives, or their power. The state-sponsored power grab favoring loyalists leads to unchallenged corruption until it is so obvious it inspires an orange or violent revolt. This is what has happened time and time again;. History repeats itself, and fools and the ignorant are the repeaters.
MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Indictments not just about Trump but the future of our democratic system (update 4/2/23)
How Do Democracies Turn Into Dictatorships? - Renew Democracy Initiative (rdi.org)
On the Surface, Hungary Is a Democracy. But What Lies Underneath? - The New York Times (nytimes.com) "For years, Mr. Orban was satisfied with infringing judicial independence through a series of incremental measures. But in early December, he set up a parallel court system in one fell swoop."
