What Is a Threat to Democracy?

This much-ballyhooed tagline has been thrown about by both sides of the political aisle for many years now. As of late, however, it seems to be used at every opportunity. “Trump will be a dictator,” while Biden expresses dictatorial comments like ignoring the Supreme Court. But what does a threat to democracy really mean, and how does it apply to our country and our politics? As contentious as our elections currently are, the same type of language was used as early as the election of 1800. It is important to remember that America is a Constitutional Republic that is democratically elected.

To set the stage for the “Revolution of 1800,” we need to remember that the Revolutionary War was very fresh in the minds of our new country. The Federalists favored utilizing the new government to reign in the states under one management, which led to many accusations that the Federalists were merely trying to bring us into a different version of British rule. President Adams was accused of being a British loyalist, and this slander towards him and the new government threatened the integrity of the federal government (according to the Federalists). This led to the deeply concerning and clearly unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts which made it a crime to publish, print, or even speak “false, scandalous, and malicious” utterances about the government or Congress. Sounds an awful lot like the government trying to use the label of misinformation in the 21^st century…but I digress. Adams and Hamilton both viewed the opposition’s leading candidate, Jefferson, as the worst possible choice for the new country. Adams’ letters to Abigail expressed his concern about whether the country would survive a Jefferson administration. Hamilton tried to manipulate the Electoral College and nominating process (unsuccessfully) in hopes of preventing Jefferson from succeeding.

So, what can we learn from that election? Well, based on the past few elections, very little. We still use sensational language despite the evidence. We can justify extreme anti-democratic measures for political gain, and we make the candidates out to be the existential threat. For all the talk of Trump being a dictator, the evidence is clear that Biden is currently in office and Trump did not require being deposed by a military force. The left has used the manipulation of social media and media organizations to squash “misinformation” (that later just becomes information…) to assist the politician they prefer. Just like in 1800, they needed the threat or the authority of government to do so and yet society is still willing to justify the use of such force.  If we allow these authorities to use force against us, what use is democracy?

This naturally begs the question: what is the democracy they are discussing? If it is the allowance for citizens to choose their representatives and you are worried about your vote counting, hop right onto the fair and transparent elections bandwagon! The way the phrase is used, hints at the deeper issue of worrying about the government being used in nefarious ways. This is the natural outcome of a deeply progressive ideology severely entrenching itself into government. When everything is political (food, roads, environment, sports, entertainment, etc.) then those in charge will be profoundly fearful of ever losing control of that power. When the leviathan of government is so massive, many will fear when power is transferred over to those they disagree with. To put it another way: those who advocate for larger government are scared of people who disagree with them gaining so much power.

But there is a way to make this fear subside: shrink the government to the smallest necessary role. The American people must take into consideration that the basic threat to democracy is an all-too-powerful government and an all-too-uneducated citizen. We need a government, and it should provide certain benefits to society; however, it has reached a point where it has become so powerful that it no longer represents the interests of the citizens. We fought a war in the 1700s due to this very point, and yet, less than 300 years later, we have forgotten our roots.  Isn’t it funny how history continues to echo, and we are mimicking the first contentious election our country had? I pray that in January, we will have the same peaceful transfer of power that we did in 1800. Likewise, if you want to protect democracy, then you should protect the Constitution and all the rights it protects. If the government cannot protect your rights, it will not be long until it will not protect your right to vote and choose your representative- your democracy.