“The political landscape in America is changing. It doubtlessly will become increasingly less manageable, far less civil among contending leaders and factions, and dangerously disruptive to societal amity. Regrettably, we are entering an era that will be characterized by continual social conflict.
“Leaders who ignore the political phenomenon underway may unwittingly expose their own social institutions to the growing disaffection and denunciation exhibited in this presidential election cycle.
“In other words, leaders may ignore ‘the canary in the coal mine,’ but they will do it at the peril of the established social institutions organized to help hold this nation together in harmony.”
Nearly nine months before the 2016 presidential elections occurred, these published words were written by me as a warning. Nothing since then contradicts them. In fact, since being published nearly five years ago, more dangerous events superseded the warnings.
Violent threats to democracy and its institutions have spiraled out of control. Elected officials at every level of government across the nation have been threatened with violence. Plots to kidnap and kill elected officials have been uncovered in a number of states.
Most dramatically, an insurrectionist mob attacked the United States Capitol attempting to stop Congress from voting to accept the states’ certified results of the 2020 presidential election, making Joseph R. Biden America’s next president.
Trump didn’t cause the discontent and division, he harnessed it for his political advantage and then targeted it at his opponents. Yes, he inflamed our political and religious institutions with derision and disdain. And yes, he sowed the winds of hate and America is now reaping the whirlwind of violence. Still, none of it started with him and it won’t end with him. “The fault dear Brutus, is not in the stars, but in ourselves.”
Confronted by the violent overthrow of the Capitol, many want to believe the dissension and discord will pass when Trump leaves office. They refuse to see it for what it is. Even after elected officials openly and seditiously continue to act against their sworn oaths, to prove their worthiness to become the heir apparent over the world of Trumpism, many still cling to the belief that when Trump leaves the scene, all will go back to normal.
Unfortunately, like the COVID-19 virus, Tumpism will never go away, it will just mutate into a different form with different leaders. It will get more combined, more confident and more cruel. It will infiltrate the indispensable institutions of democracy, including religion, and wreak havoc.
In the face of that stark reality, social leaders have one of four choices: 1) They can try taming the tiger, hoping not to get devoured. 2) They can try riding the tiger, hoping not to get carried off into the jungle. 3) They can try fighting the tiger, hoping to survive being mauled. 4) They can protect themselves by seeking safety gathered away from the tiger.
In the last five years, we have seen many try to tame, ride or fight the tiger without success. None have walked away unscathed. Yet, the surprising choice made by Joe Biden during his campaign for the presidency proved triumphant over the tiger.
Many, including Trump, accused Biden of hiding out in his basement during the campaign, frustrated that he would not choose one of the other three options and engage the tiger. No, Biden wisely understood that if he separated himself from the rabid tiger’s insatiable need to feed on attention, it would begin to ravage itself, and he was right.
Leaders of all social institutions, whether political, economical, religious or the media, should learn the Biden lesson. They should watch and warn and in their own way actively gather their people away from the tiger for their security and the survival of democracy in America.
Stuart Reid
Stuart C. Reid, Ogden, is a Republican and former Utah state senator.