Democracies are fragile. A case in point is the Weimar republic in Germany following the First World War. Germany had suffered a humiliating defeat. The fledgling government was instable and conflicted. Paul von Hindenberg, a respected war hero, ran for President in an attempt to bring calm and confidence to the country. That move was not nearly enough. Under increasing pressure from right-wing conservatives, Hindenberg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor. The Nazis came to full power and the regime rolled forward.
One of the sad truths about that time and every time is that well-meaning people who act in civil and orderly ways and follow the rules, are mannerly right up until they hand over the keys to the tyrant-in-waiting. And tyrants have their most memorable wet dreams when they fantasize about all the ways they can manipulate a democracy to bring about its spectacular demise.
Hindenberg was one of those respectable, principled, well-intentioned people. He didn’t like Hitler. But he passed the torch, nevertheless. Biden, too, is a respectable, principled, well-intentioned man. He brought our country out of a pandemic, restored important relationships, championed legislation that made a real difference, and stabilized a country rocking from chaos with renewed democratic norms. But on January 20, 2025, Joe Biden will sit in an inauguration ceremony for Trump 2.0. All the signs are that every democratic institution and value will be at risk as never before. Regardless, Biden will demonstrate how civility looks, how power is passed off peacefully. In the end, though, none of that will matter, because like Hindenberg, Biden will pass the torch to one whose intention is to torch everything and secure absolute power for himself and his elite tribe.
Already, Trump is surrounding himself with absolute loyalists, lap dogs who will do his bidding no matter how cruel. They have been recruited according to plan. With a compromised judiciary and razor thin majority in the House and Senate, there are few restraints. Trump loyalists in the states are already attempting to mirror this reality. The new American Oligarchy of the super-rich are lining up on stage. This next Reich is not hesitant to break every law and use force against every opponent. The jack boots are on the ground, the police state on the way.
And yet, like Hindenberg and millions of ordinary Germans of that time, we stand by passively today. Respectful. Courteous and spiritual and thoughtful and evenhanded. All while the menace approaches, a threat for which this country is barely prepared.
If there is a call to prayer, it should be the kind of prayer that forms resilient ecosystems of value-laden resistance. Courage will be necessary. As will endurance. And the forming of communities that stand for the best and do not hesitate to speak and act for it.
It is easy to assume that the regime will not come for you. It is always someone else, but never us. Truly, the regime goes for easy scapegoats and vulnerable communities first. But then the culture of cruelty tilts toward making its actions normal. People hand over compliance too early and too easily. And before you know it the Fuhrer is beyond any power to defeat.
Call me cynical and pessimistic. I am not so by nature. But the realist in me, the part of me that actually sees what is happening, dares you to write this down and review it in ten years. I hope to God that I’m wrong.
Take heart. Be strong. Love one another. Don’t give up.
vitalwholeness 