Bad Actors in American Democracy
On the night and early morning of November 8th and November 9th, 2016, respectively, many Americans, including me, watched in despair as the results came in. On a night we thought the glass ceiling would break and we would finally be able to breathe just a little bit freer, the glass ceiling ended up falling on us, taking us back many steps we had achieved in recent history. Hate and division had won on that fateful night, and not love and unity.
Flash forward over one and a half years, and many of our worst fears of what would happen under a Trump administration have come true. At the time of writing, parents are being separated from their children at the border, and the best explanation our administration has to explain this is to "maintain order," with one official going as far as quoting the Bible to explain this immoral and horrid policy. Women's rights are constantly under attack, even though there is no evidence defunding Planned Parenthood or outlawing abortion would decrease "loss of life." President Trump's hate and demagoguery are further dividing the nation, and his words pierce mine and so many other Americans hearts when they leave his mouth. Far-right conservative media outlets continue to flourish, and it is still possible to live in a far-right conservative bubble in America.
There have always been bad actors in the American system of democracy, and there will continue to be for the rest of American history. They are not only found in our democracy but in every other country and governmental system on earth.
Let this not discourage you, though, as there are many ways to prevent these bad actors from ever holding political office, from being serious contenders for political office, and having a strong influence on politics. We don't have a surefire process of preventing them from holding power, but what we can do is pinpoint them from the early stages of development, and encourage the American people to recognize them as a threat, and deny them the immense amount of influence that they yearn to have.
There are many ways we can deny the bad actors the power they want in order to have a large influence on the workings of our political system. One of the easiest ways to prevent a possible demagogue and/or bad actor who wishes to disrupt the political status quo with unorthodox ideas which would grant them immense influence and power is to participate in the election process, i.e. vote in elections. It is important that we not only vote in the general election, but also the primary elections, as the primaries are the first "checkpoint" that bad actors must pass in order to gain power. If we are alert and have a watchful eye on who is running for political office, we can detect these bad actors and deter them before they become serious contenders for the office they are gunning for. If they pass the primaries and run in the general election, then we, for the sake of the people of the United States, must block them from gaining the office they desire to be elected into, even if this means switching parties and voting for someone else. For example, if there was a Democrat and a Republican running in a presidential race, and the Republican has fringe far-right views that would undoubtedly endanger every American, Republicans should not vote for the party, instead, they should recognize the existential threat that the Republican poses for the future of their country, put aside their differences, and vote for the Democratic candidate, even if the Democrat does not represent their views. In a normal presidential election, and any other election for that matter, we should vote for the candidate that best represents our views and we think will do the best job.
Not only will voting prevent bad actors from gaining the power and influence, it will also send a message to any other bad actors who hope to influence the political system and become elected that the American people will not tolerate an agenda of demagoguery, and discourage them from running.
One of the disadvantages of the American system of democracy is that many prominent positions are not in fact elected by the people, instead, they are filled by politicians we elect. (I call it "America's obsession with indirect democracy," but that will be saved for another post). It is a little harder to prevent nominations of bad actors, but we can still prevent it. First, we can choose not to vote for a candidate that has displayed signs that they would fill nominated roles with bad actors, hoping to gain power not only for them, but for the office, so that in the future, the role will have an even bigger influence on American politics. Second, if one of our elected officials chooses to nominate a bad actor looking to disrupt the political process, we can write, call, and protest to show the official who has suggested the nominee for the role that we oppose their nomination.
Many bad actors will slowly, as Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt put it in How Democracies Die, "subvert democratic principles." The transition will not occur with one, five, or even a hundred decisions. It will occur, usually, over a long period of time, transitioning away from the political norms and status quo, in order to not alarm the American people. This is why it is so imperative that we keep a close eye on our officials, and constantly scrutinize them for any decision we disagree with. Politicians are arguably the most scrutinized people in any profession, and it should be that way. The only way the principles of democracy instilled into the United States function well is if the people keep a close eye on their officials, and express distaste when any decision is made that they disagree with.
Bad actors will always exist in our system of democracy. The question is, will the American people step up and do something to limit the amount of influence on the political process they have? Only time will tell.
Flash forward over one and a half years, and many of our worst fears of what would happen under a Trump administration have come true. At the time of writing, parents are being separated from their children at the border, and the best explanation our administration has to explain this is to "maintain order," with one official going as far as quoting the Bible to explain this immoral and horrid policy. Women's rights are constantly under attack, even though there is no evidence defunding Planned Parenthood or outlawing abortion would decrease "loss of life." President Trump's hate and demagoguery are further dividing the nation, and his words pierce mine and so many other Americans hearts when they leave his mouth. Far-right conservative media outlets continue to flourish, and it is still possible to live in a far-right conservative bubble in America.
There have always been bad actors in the American system of democracy, and there will continue to be for the rest of American history. They are not only found in our democracy but in every other country and governmental system on earth.
Let this not discourage you, though, as there are many ways to prevent these bad actors from ever holding political office, from being serious contenders for political office, and having a strong influence on politics. We don't have a surefire process of preventing them from holding power, but what we can do is pinpoint them from the early stages of development, and encourage the American people to recognize them as a threat, and deny them the immense amount of influence that they yearn to have.
There are many ways we can deny the bad actors the power they want in order to have a large influence on the workings of our political system. One of the easiest ways to prevent a possible demagogue and/or bad actor who wishes to disrupt the political status quo with unorthodox ideas which would grant them immense influence and power is to participate in the election process, i.e. vote in elections. It is important that we not only vote in the general election, but also the primary elections, as the primaries are the first "checkpoint" that bad actors must pass in order to gain power. If we are alert and have a watchful eye on who is running for political office, we can detect these bad actors and deter them before they become serious contenders for the office they are gunning for. If they pass the primaries and run in the general election, then we, for the sake of the people of the United States, must block them from gaining the office they desire to be elected into, even if this means switching parties and voting for someone else. For example, if there was a Democrat and a Republican running in a presidential race, and the Republican has fringe far-right views that would undoubtedly endanger every American, Republicans should not vote for the party, instead, they should recognize the existential threat that the Republican poses for the future of their country, put aside their differences, and vote for the Democratic candidate, even if the Democrat does not represent their views. In a normal presidential election, and any other election for that matter, we should vote for the candidate that best represents our views and we think will do the best job.
Not only will voting prevent bad actors from gaining the power and influence, it will also send a message to any other bad actors who hope to influence the political system and become elected that the American people will not tolerate an agenda of demagoguery, and discourage them from running.
One of the disadvantages of the American system of democracy is that many prominent positions are not in fact elected by the people, instead, they are filled by politicians we elect. (I call it "America's obsession with indirect democracy," but that will be saved for another post). It is a little harder to prevent nominations of bad actors, but we can still prevent it. First, we can choose not to vote for a candidate that has displayed signs that they would fill nominated roles with bad actors, hoping to gain power not only for them, but for the office, so that in the future, the role will have an even bigger influence on American politics. Second, if one of our elected officials chooses to nominate a bad actor looking to disrupt the political process, we can write, call, and protest to show the official who has suggested the nominee for the role that we oppose their nomination.
Many bad actors will slowly, as Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt put it in How Democracies Die, "subvert democratic principles." The transition will not occur with one, five, or even a hundred decisions. It will occur, usually, over a long period of time, transitioning away from the political norms and status quo, in order to not alarm the American people. This is why it is so imperative that we keep a close eye on our officials, and constantly scrutinize them for any decision we disagree with. Politicians are arguably the most scrutinized people in any profession, and it should be that way. The only way the principles of democracy instilled into the United States function well is if the people keep a close eye on their officials, and express distaste when any decision is made that they disagree with.
Bad actors will always exist in our system of democracy. The question is, will the American people step up and do something to limit the amount of influence on the political process they have? Only time will tell.
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