What Happens if The Good Guys Don’t Win the Elections

This is America’s Great— and Maybe Final — Test. But Will it Pass?

I want to begin with a little note — indulge me, or just skip ahead. I hope by now you understand that when I write about America, I don’t do it to persuade you, argue with you, try to convince you, in the way that defines this age, from petty party politics, the Soviet style ideological rigidity that has come to define both sides, cable news hosts, or pundits. I don’t do it, especially, from a place of condemnation or shame or blame. Just from a place of gentle observation, that comes from things I’ve learned, in books, and in my own improbable life. I genuinely think Americans should be living better lives than they are — all of them, no matter how wedded to their own ruin they might be. So think of this as something like a pep talk from the devil, not like a lecture from grandpa.

When I say “what happens if the good guys don’t win,” it’s not to score points, divide, or preach, but simple to observe a simple, bitter, undeniable reality. This may well be American democracy’s last, final, and greatest test. Yes, really. I will make my case, and you, as always, be the judge.

What will happen if the good guys don’t win the election is that the bad guys will take their gloves off. And they will shatter what is left of democracy, society, and civilization like a fist through glass. How so?

Once the process of institutional capture is complete, only then do authoritarians tend to reveal the most extreme parts of their agendas. These agendas usually have three components. One, the end of democracy. Two, the end of freedom. Three, the end of personhood. No, I’m not being hyperbolic — this is what authoritarians are, my friends — though I imagine you might think I am, so let’s consider it together.

Let’s imagine the end of democracy — that the next election is postponed, or that martial law is imposed, or that the constitution is suspended on some flimsy pretext. Bang! There you are — an Assad dynasty in the White House. Unthinkable? Think again — already, troops are being ordered to “shoot to kill” refugees, which is both unconstitutional, and a disgrace, really, to a soldier and the honor of an armed forces. The authoritarians…