A friend recently asked me, with an anxious tone, ‘President Trump said he is not going to step down or acknowledge defeat. What will happen then?’ I calmly reassured him that America’s democratic system will take care of him.
This system – in which a man holding one of the most powerful offices in the world, in spite of his obnoxious authoritarian character, in spite of his corrupt behavior, in spite of his uncontrolled ego and arrogance – forces him to play golf and say nothing when he is defeated. In spite of his meaningless huffing and puffing, he knows that elections are fair and free. The system is intact. One has to penetrate layers of fortified checks and balances to be able to make a difference.
In the early 1970s, when my father was a diplomat in Washington DC representing the new country of Bangladesh, he invited dignitaries including a US retired general to his home. Sarcastically, my father asked the general, ‘Why does President Nixon face so much trouble in the Watergate trial? Can’t he ask a few top generals to help him out?’ The general promptly replied, “Nixon knows very well that if he does such a stupid thing, within 24 hours he would have to kneel down in Times Square to ask for forgiveness from the nation.” He added, “No one in the government, especially the army officials, would carry out his order.”
Several months after that event, Nixon ordered his attorney general to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox in the Watergate investigation. The attorney general refused to comply with his unethical order, and they and others in Nixon’s team resigned. That event, known as the ‘Saturday night massacre,’ triggered the downfall of the Nixon administration in 1974.
Democratic institutions – and an entrenched democratic culture cultivated and through two hundred years of struggle to preserve and protect democracy – withstands aberrations such as President Nixon and President Trump.
The Essence of Democracy
The essence of the founding ideas of the American Declaration of Independence is encapsulated in one sentence. “All men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights …..”
Thinkers of succeeding generations shed light on these human rights, paramount among which are the right to life, liberty, and dignity. Justice and self-determination was enumerated per President Woodrow Wilson, and freedom from poverty that robs one’s dignity was exhorted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Contemporary American wisdom dictates that the right to a healthy environment, clean water, basic education and quality healthcare are all necessary for humans to live life with dignity.
The US government was designed to protect these rights of the people. The legitimacy to rule is obtained directly from the people themselves.
The US Constitution took eleven long years of intense debate and discussion to formulate, and it preserves, protects, and defends the newly founded American republic. It is considered as the ‘blueprint’ for modern democracy. According to the constitution, the goals of a democracy are to uphold rights, to establish justice, and to deliver common welfare. To achieve these goals, key mechanisms are implanted in governance – including, among others, separation and limitation of powers, checks and balances. Intricate election laws protect from manipulation and tinkering. Term limits are set for important officials.
In spite of intense effort among an amazing collection of brilliant thinkers and minds, a constitution still sometimes become inadequate to handle the complexities of the times. As of now, there are twenty seven amendments. Still more are definitely needed to address equity and justice. Loopholes and weaknesses still exist, and predatory elites and special interest groups can take advantage of these loopholes.
A Republic – As good As Its People Make It
Democracy falls apart in a short period of time if people remain complacent and negligent in their duties. It is true that ‘eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.’ The founding leaders knew that the longest republic, the Roman Empire, fell apart within a short period of time when the public became deluded by flashy authoritarian figures. These figures promised them quick solutions and rapid prosperity, forgetting that the rule of law had sustained the republic for more than four centuries in the past. This downfall took place a few thousand years ago, and it can very well take place now as well.
Today, Trump’s supporters delude themselves with all sorts of conspiracy theories. Their fanatic religious interpretations fuel extreme and unjust viewpoints, leading to white supremacist movements. They support apartheid pro-Israeli policies, as wellas xenophobia and Islamophobia. They abandon sound principles that have universal acceptance. Ultimately, they are victims of intense and ceaseless propaganda that promotes fear and prejudice. Trump’s supporters vilify and dehumanize others in the world, as was done during the time of the Cold War to support militarism and confrontation. President Trump was instructed to act in this manner, in order to please the elites who brought him to power.
Elites in society, whether domestic or transnational, abhor democracy as a rule of law which stands in the way of their personal interests. These predatory forces relentlessly subvert existing democracies, and they often destroy nascent democracies in the developing world. Presently, the American government often goes against the core values of America, thus helpin anti-democratic forces to capture power. Elites clearly are involved in the policy-making process. Only vigilance can bring an effective countervailing power to rescue America from this predatory behavior. By one estimate, only approximately 400 elite organizations and groups end up dictating the fate of the 7.5 billion inhabitants of the planet. Almost all of them have lobbies set up in Washington.
There is Hope
There were times that the American public and civil society remained united. They brought the country back on track. It is often said that the Vietnam War didn’t end in Vietnam – it ended in the streets of America. When the people found out that their elite-driven government was misleading public to serve their own interests, they remained united and determined. They ultimately changed their government’s militarism and confrontational policies, as well as its reckless nuclear arms race. The American took to the streets and brought about a paradigm shift. Sensing the mood of the public, Washington embarked on an intensive diplomatic agenda of détente. A visionary China policy reached out to arch rivals. The Cold War and the nuclear arms race ended. A new era of globalization emerged through trade, exchange, and diplomacy. The American public themselves provided the thrust for that paradigm shift.
If this constructive attitude prevailed at that time, the Vietnam War would not take place. The country would be free from the grip of French colonial rule. Ho Chi Minh would be an ally, as he originally wanted. The Cold War would have a much shorter lifespan.
The American public originally feared a possible nuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union, and they initially decided to take a backseat. Taking full advantage the nation’s vulnerability, predatory elites took the reins. They dictated costly and counterproductive policies that benefited their self-interest, while Americans paid a high price. A few hundred thousand Americans were killed, and trillions of dollars of tax money was drained, killing a few million people around the world.
Until the American public took charge, the Vietnam War and the Cold War didn’t end. This is the insidious but profound power of the American people that the world often ignores. The American people themselves are now aware of the responsibility.
Global society should reach out to the American public, a powerful catalyst of change in our time. We must work together to empower each other, in order to bring about the difficult changes needed most now. Transnational elites are playing the same unjust, costly and ferocious games in our post-9/11 times. The new pretext to serve their power hunger is the so called ‘war on terrorism.’ They themselves are the cause of terrorism. Countless people around the world endure incalculable suffering due to the repressive authoritarian regimes that Washington supports. Washington must change.
As transnational elites become more and more powerful, people-to-people movements will ultimately rescue governments across the world. If they do not come through in this critical time, authoritarianism and dysfunctional democracies will only continue to rise.
