Assault of the Caesars

 This is an interesting piece about today's dictators or dictators-in-waiting, focusing especially on Trump and Boris Johnson (the author is British, so...). He lays out the idea of Caesars as being men whose showmanship is more important than their ideology. Sure, there are some common beliefs among rightist authoritarianism, mostly xenophobia, but they are mostly about power, and their power comes via lies.

I saw an analysis of Christopher Rufo, the slimy ideologue attacking whatever a school might teach aside from the Three Rs. He was the "mastermind" behind the attacks on CRT (which were bullshit, as CRT is a specific thing) and even SEL (social emotional learning). I couldn't understand the attack on SEL, aside from the fact that the Right needs bullies, but his own words explained his agenda: destroy the institutions starting with schools. If he can sow distrust of all public education, he can begin to erode faith in every other institution.

During the Trump years, one mantra among anti-Trump organizers was "Your institutions won't save you." But the thing is, they did save us. The Courts smacked down his efforts to overturn the election. The military refused to accede to his plans. The Congress held him accountable via impeachment (though not conviction, which fell victim to partisanship). If we are lucky, the courts will hold him accountable this spring and he will finally go to jail. 

Trumpism understands this; Rufo understands this; the Caesars understand this. The institutions of liberal democracy do, in fact, restrain authoritarian impulse, so those institutions must first be destroyed. American media is pretty bad, but that's not enough, the idea of objective truth has to be destroyed. There are problems with American schools, but that's not enough, they must be eliminated. American elections have all sorts of issues, but that's not enough, the very idea of electoral results must be called into question. This is as true of Ron DeSantis as it is of Donald Trump, even if he pioneered the latest round of attacks on American institutions.

History does not predict the future, but history does suggest that liberal democracy does have some robust anti-bodies against those who would destroy it. It is constantly doubted and assaulted - from the left and the right - yet as Churchill quipped, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried from time to time." 

I remain hopeful that Americans will not return the architect of January 6th to the White House, but if they do, I fear it will lead to the dissolution of the country.