10 Steps to Autocracy

I saw a yard sign today. It read, "Fight Truth Decay." It's funny and serious all at once.

"Yes, we know he's outrageous, but we've got it all under control." That seemed to be Republican sentiment in 2017. That sentiment is no longer valid, because it no longer matters. What matters is the complete demolition of democracy in the the pursuit of absolute power.

Autocracy

There are ten steps to complete control, and all of them are in play right now. (From a variety of online sources including The Authoritarian Playbook, The Conversation, and Stacey Abrams.

1. Exploiting divisions and polarizing society: Autocratic leaders often thrive on societal divisions, stoking fear and distrust among different groups, according to The Commons Social Change Library.
2. Attacking independent institutions: This includes undermining the media, judiciary, and other checks and balances within a democratic system. They might attack these institutions through legal means or by installing loyalists.
3. Spreading disinformation and controlling information: Authoritarian regimes use propaganda and control media outlets to shape public perception and suppress dissenting voices.
4. Aggrandizing executive power: Leaders increase their authority, often through executive orders or constitutional changes, while weakening legislatures and other institutions that limit their power.
5. Targeting and silencing the opposition: This includes restricting the ability of political opponents and civil society organizations to operate, potentially through legal action, harassment, or violence.
6. Manipulating elections: While maintaining the facade of democracy, autocrats may rig elections through vote suppression, gerrymandering, or altering voting rules.
7. Exploiting nationalism and populism: Leaders appeal to a sense of national pride and popular resentment against elites or minorities to solidify their power base.
8. Using emergency powers to justify repression: Claiming a need to maintain order or address threats (real or perceived), leaders might declare states of emergency to bypass legal constraints and repress dissent.
9. Controlling the economy and rewarding loyalists: Autocratic leaders often use economic control and patronage networks to ensure elite support and keep the public dependent on the regime.
10. Exporting the model and collaborating with other autocracies: Authoritarian regimes may seek to expand their influence internationally and exchange strategies for maintaining power. 

Now what?

A United Front!

"Trumpism… is primarily about the acquisition of power — power for its own sake. It is a multifront assault to make the earth a playground for ruthless men, so of course any institutions that might restrain power must be weakened or destroyed. Trumpism is about ego, appetite and acquisitiveness and is driven by a primal aversion to the higher elements of the human spirit — learning, compassion, scientific wonder, the pursuit of justice. …

What is happening now is not normal politics. We’re seeing an assault on the fundamental institutions of our civic life, things we should all swear loyalty to — Democrat, independent or Republican. It’s time for a comprehensive national civic uprising. It’s time for Americans in universities, law, business, nonprofits and the scientific community, and civil servants and beyond to form one coordinated mass movement. Trump is about power. The only way he’s going to be stopped is if he’s confronted by some movement that possesses rival power. …I’m really not a movement guy. I don’t naturally march in demonstrations or attend rallies that I’m not covering as a journalist. But this is what America needs right now.” -David Brooks

We hold the future in our hands

Despite the Chaos

This morning I choose to share some hopeful words from David Brooks in an article written for the Atlantic, I Should Have Seen This Coming.

 "I have thought of America as a deeply flawed nation that is nonetheless a force for tremendous good in the world. From Abraham Lincoln to Franklin D. Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan and beyond, Americans fought for freedom and human dignity and against tyranny; we promoted democracy, funded the Marshall Plan, and saved millions of people across Africa from HIV and AIDS. When we caused harm—Vietnam, Iraq—it was because of our overconfidence and naivete, not evil intentions."

Included in the message is a call to action to stand up for a hopeful future that lifts all of us up. There are signs of movement, people are beginning to push back against the authoritarian rule of the Trump administration. 

Cory Booker's speech on the Senate floor. 

The lawyer in Michigan who is taking on cases defending the civil rights of foreign students despite being detained by immigration and customs officials. They wanted access to his cellphone.

The protests last Saturday. 

Sermons on the dignity of humankind. 

Richard Blumenthal's hold on nominations of Trump's appointees should be a starting point.

Brooks Says...

 "In the long term, Trumpism is doomed. Power without prudence and humility invariably fails. Nations, like people, change not when times are good but in response to pain. At a moment when Trumpism seems to be devouring everything, the temptation is to believe that this time is different." 

"But history doesn’t stop moving. Even now, as I travel around the country, I see the forces of repair gathering in neighborhoods and communities. If you’re part of an organization that builds trust across class, you’re fighting Trumpism. If you’re a Democrat jettisoning insular faculty-lounge progressivism in favor of a Whig-like working-class abundance agenda, you’re fighting Trumpism. If you are standing up for a moral code of tolerance and pluralism that can hold America together, you’re fighting Trumpism."

"Over time, changes in values lead to changes in relationships, which lead to changes in civic life, which eventually lead to changes in policy and then in the general trajectory of the nation. It starts slow, but as the Book of Job says, the sparks will fly upward."

Dignity

It isn't my imagination that we used to be able to talk to one another. Cultish tribalism was on the fringes. Lincoln was right when he spoke about a house divided. The issue he was speaking about was slavery. The issue today is about raw power, and brutish acts aimed at denying human dignity to all that might stand in the way of attainment of that power.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other."

Churches and the Great Resignation

A Familiar Story

This is all too familiar. In my public broadcasting career, I was faced with choices between serving the audience or serving the interests of wealthy and powerful benefactors. It didn't happen all the time, but there were instances when large sums of money were offered with strings attached. My inclination was to stay true to the core values of the audience. My boss said this was the hard way to raise funds. His inclination was to grab for the shiny object, and sort out the consequences later. I guess you can see where this was headed.

When my immediate supervisor resigned he offered, "Giving up on principles wasn't worth it." I was appointed to his position. I found out he was right. 

Coming apart at the seams

Our social divide is leading people away from religion. It isn't just in the pews, although attendance is way down. Pastors are joining the great resignation. It has a lot to do with the decidedly conservative leanings of powerful congregants.

"But in the wreckage of Trumpian politics and a never-ending-pandemic, our jobs have been reduced to negotiating skirmishes over mask-wearing and vaccination status. Former and current pastors have shared with me that their denominations and powerful congregants have pushed for a false unity that tolerates homophobia, racism, and conspiracy theories. My friend Ryan, a seasoned pastor, finally gave up. He felt that he could no longer follow the work of the Holy Spirit when he was expected to make room for people who actively thwarted God's movement. When we name the need to repent of sexism and racism, powerful church members withhold their giving and muster factions to oust us. Our compassion fatigue is real." MELISSA FLORER-BIXLER

You can read more in Sojourners. 

WHY PASTORS ARE JOINING THE GREAT RESIGNATION

Florer-Bixler explains, "In the past decade, we’ve watched a trickle in the decline of church membership turn to a geyser as people woke up to the incompatibility between the teachings of Jesus Christ and the practices of many who claim to follow him. Up until recently, I was certain the death of the institutional church would come because of a mass exodus from the pews. But if the data is any indicator, the sun might set on U.S. churches as we know them because pastors refuse to aid and abet a compromise between factionalism and the good news of Jesus."

Millennials May Not Come Back

It is not a coincidence that Millennials are staying away. They cite the same reasons, homophobia, racism, and conspiracy theories. Add to that the sexual abuse scandals and the seeming hatred and intolerance coming from certain factions, churches are no longer seen as good role models. They are places where common decency seem to be in short supply. You can find out more by looking at research from the Pew Trust. 

In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace

WHEN WE NAME THE NEED TO REPENT OF SEXISM AND RACISM, POWERFUL CHURCH MEMBERS WITHHOLD THEIR GIVING AND MUSTER FACTIONS TO OUST US. OUR COMPASSION FATIGUE IS REAL.

In an interview with FiveThirtyEight Mandie, a 32-year-old woman living in southern California and who asked that her last name not be used, grew up going to church regularly but is no longer religious. She told us she’s not convinced a religious upbringing is what she’ll choose for her one-year-old child. “My own upbringing was religious, but I’ve come to believe you can get important moral teachings outside religion,” she said. “And in some ways I think many religious organizations are not good models for those teachings.”

Undue Influence

If you let the big shiny object be your guide, you can easily diminish the value of your service. 

 

Every decision has consequences. Ignoring the core values of those you serve results is a loss of trust. They will turn away and leave you for somebody or something else. In the end you will serve no one. Just be aware, even if you stand for what is right, it may cost you your position.

Change is Essential

A Change is Coming

Without change there is no progress. There is no progress unless we all become motivated to make the change.

Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator and change has its enemies.
- Robert F. Kennedy

Calling for change and doing nothing leads to cynicism and apathy.

Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question is what to do with the feelings that have been aroused. . . . If one feels that there is nothing “we” can do — but who is that “we”? — and nothing “they” can do either — and who are “they”? — then one starts to get bored, cynical, apathetic.- Susan Sontag

If you're looking for reinforcement, the motivation comes from those who are willing to join together in a common goal. Sometimes the motivation comes from inspirational leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Sometimes the strength to move forward comes from music like Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony or the Spiritual, "A Change is Gonna' Come."

Whatever it is, use all the tools at your disposal. It's takes perseverance and a willingness to be in it for the long haul. No matter the change, there will be those vested in keeping things the way they are. They might have the power for now, but their hold on power is subject to change. Their words will trip them. Their power will evade their grasp, if we are willing to speak up and are motivated to action.

Proverbs 11:17 “Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel.”