The March 24, 2017 episode of Real Time With Bill Maher included guest, Dr. Timothy Snyder. Dr. Snyder is a professor of history at Yale University and a respected academic specializing in the history of Eastern and Central Europe and The Holocaust. He is the author of several books on topics in his area of expertise, the most recent of which is Tyranny: Lessons From The Twentieth Century.
I’m not always a Bill Maher fan. He is not the best interviewer and is sometimes swept up in his disdain for religion and his hatred of Islam in particular. However, this episode of Real Time was especially informative and thought provoking. During the discussion of current events and Dr. Snyder’s work, Dr. Snyder made an excellent point concerning the institutions of democracy.
He said that, in times such as this when democracy is under assault we may be inclined to think that the institutions of democracy will protect us. In his opinion this is false. In fact, the reverse is true. When democracy is under attack by authoritarian and tyrannical forces we, the citizens, must protect the institutions of democracy. The aim of an authoritarian, such as Donald Trump or Stephen Bannon, is to weaken and then destroy the basic institutions that form the foundation of democracy.
Trump is working to weaken and destroy an independent judiciary, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, the role of the legislative branch, and government ethics. He is working to weaken and destroy the independence and function of the Congressional Budget Office, the General Services Administration, the national parks, and the Consumer Protection Bureau. He is working to weaken and destroy the function or the very existence of executive administrative institutions from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Department of Education to The State Department.
This mission is being carried out at the state level by Republican legislators and our Republican governor, the failed SEAL, Eric Greitens. At the state level the undermining of institutions ranges from making it more difficult for expert witnesses to testify on behalf of injured parties, destruction of educational institutions, to seeking to sell land designated for state parks.
So, when you consider writing elected representatives or writing an letter to the editor about a particular issue, also consider writing in support of democratic institutions at every level of government. They need your help so they can help you.
Submitted by Michael Pfeifer, WCD Member