Peril in the Pursuit of Political Power

Peril is defined as “serious and immediate danger.” I think it is not hyperbolical to say that at the present time, the U.S. is facing serious and immediate danger because of the way some politicians and their supporters are pursuing political power to the detriment of democracy. 

Perils of the Past

This nation was founded after the colonists proved to be a peril to the rule of Great Britain’s King George III. The way they pursued and achieved political power may not have been the best way they could have done it, but that is how the U.S. was founded 245 years ago.

The biggest challenge to the admittedly limited democracy established in 1776 was by the formation of the Confederate States of America 160 years ago and the Civil War that began a couple of months later in April 1861.

Then, the democratic rights of formerly enslaved American citizens came under peril again after the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and the enforcement of Jim Crow laws that persisted until 1965.

Perils in the Present

Pursuing political power by violent means is prevalent in several countries at present. On Feb. 1 there was a coup, described as a “military power grab,” in the beleaguered Asian country of Myanmar.

More recently, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7. There is also ongoing military conflict between the rebel forces in the Ethiopian region of Tigray and the central government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Fortunately, in the U.S. there has not recently been pursuit of political power by means of assassination or physical violence—with the notable exception of the horrendous events at the national Capitol on January 6.

The present peril in the U.S. is largely because of the Republicans currently pursuing political power by dubious means. That, at least, is the considered opinion of the conservative writer and historian Max Boot, who in 2015-16 was a campaign advisor for Marco Rubio.

Boot (b. 1969) contended in a July 15 opinion piece for The Washington Post that “Republicans are increasingly willing to resort to undemocratic, even violent, means to defend conservative, White hegemony.”

Dana Milbank, who also writes for The Post but is definitely not a conservative, also posted on July 15 an opinion piece titled “American democracy survived its Reichstag fire on Jan. 6. But the threat has not subsided.” He asserts that history “warns of greater violence” ahead.

Milbank (b. 1968) quotes words spoken to him recently by Timothy Snyder: “We’re looking almost certainly at an attempt in 2024 to take power without winning elections.”

A noted Yale historian, Snyder (b. 1969) also said,

If people are excluded from voting rights, then naturally they’re going to start to think about other options, on the one side. But, on the other side, the people who are benefiting because their vote counts for more think of themselves as entitled—and when things don’t go their way, they’re also more likely to be violent.

Promoting the Peril of the Present

The serious and immediate danger of the present is exacerbated not only by Republican politicians, especially by the previous President, but also by the right-wing news media, primarily Fox News and, to a lesser degree, Newsmax and OAN.

There are also numerous websites and broadcasts of people promoting the pursuit of political power by lies and misleading statements.

Recently, I learned of Candace Owens when one of my cousins posted a tweet of hers on Facebook. Owens (b. 1989), who now has her own weekly broadcast on The Daily Wire, tweeted on July 13:

Nobody believes that January 6th was a domestic terrorist attack executed by Trump supporters. It’s outright pathetic that the Democrats keep playing pretend. The conservative movement grows every single day because with time, all of their lies and motives are uncovered.

My cousin and millions like her accept such untruths as well as the perilous propaganda about a stolen election and about the dangers of critical race theory and Covid-19 vaccinations.

And yes, when conservative Republicans cheer because the President’s covid-19 vaccination goal was not met, we know we are living in perilous times.