In September 1787, at the end of the Constitutional Convention, 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin walked out of Independence Hall and was asked what sort of government the delegates had created. As the story goes, the oldest of the framers replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
The events of the last two months have infused those words with new significance. What Franklin meant was that a democratic republic requires, above all else, a respect for the fundamental tenets of democracy. The system depends upon the moral uprightness of those who are operating it. Despite the checks and balances and other guardrails in place, our democracy is vulnerable to the corrupt influence of those who would put their own political fortunes and advancement ahead of the republic itself.
Unique among presidents, Donald Trump showed himself to be willing to sacrifice what the Founders gave us. What we’ve seen recently represents the culmination of a lifetime of lying, with the intent of creating false alternate realities for public consumption.
The problem this time, though, is that what he was selling was a lack of faith in the most fundamental element of our government: free and fair elections. And despicably, he was willing take down the system to extend his hold on power.
There are two main reasons that autocracies develop out of more democratic forms of government. Either a coup takes place with military support, or a corrupt judiciary greases the wheels for the leader to stay in power. In large part, what we have seen since Nov. 3 is encouraging. First, the judicial branch has remained what it always has been: independent. The judges who have ruled on the myriad election-related lawsuits have followed the law and the facts, regardless of their own leanings or who appointed them. A number of the decisions, indeed, were written by Trump appointees. The performance of the judiciary after the election has been exemplary.
Second, the great majority of state and local Republican politicians have demonstrated their own morality and allegiance to the Constitution they swore to uphold. State legislators refused Trump’s entreaties to appoint their own electors. Republican election officials, such as Georgia’s secretary of state, insisted upon the integrity of their process despite being supporters of the president and being hounded and harassed by him.
Thanks to the support of our constitutional principles and the adherence to law and facts by these two groups, our democracy has survived this unprecedented assault. Trump was betting that many other public officials would share his stunning disregard for the most important democratic principle: having your vote count. Fortunately, he was mistaken. But many problems remain.
Republicans at the national level were largely complicit (at best) and treasonous (at worst) throughout the post-election period. On Jan. 6, after the seditious occupation of the U.S. Capitol by a Trump-inspired mob, a majority of House Republicans twice voted to overturn the will of the people — in an election that was repeatedly ruled free of any irregularity. The absence of courage and morality reflected by those votes is horrendous, and dangerous. It also sends a terrible message to the rest of the world from our country, which for so long has been the standard-setter with regard to the peaceful transfer of power.
There are always some citizens who are susceptible to believing things that are untrue. But we have witnessed a lethal combination: the unintended consequences of technology and Trump’s willingness to propagate falsehoods. This has resulted in a too-large swath of the populace subscribing to these beliefs.
Between algorithms designed to reinforce opinions and the existence of news outlets operating with no commitment to real facts, the amount of mistrust out there is at a heightened level. And we have numerous representatives and senators refusing publicly to accept the factual results of an election. Their loyalty to, and fear of, the dishonest leader of their party was guiding their actions. This behavior, like Trump’s, is incredibly unpatriotic and damaging.
So we come back to Franklin’s words, which have never been more important and relevant to our republic. It is up to all of us, through our elected officials, to “keep it.” Fortunately, many of them have acted honorably, which has saved our nation from a wicked assault upon its principles. But the rest need to find their souls and transfer their allegiance from a would-be autocrat to our democracy.
Bruce Danziger lives in Hartford.