The Republic Of Fear

If, by now, you are still undecided about the question whether the US federal government has taken an authoritarian and fascist turn, let me give you a clear measure that should help make that judgment. When a government’s chief mode of governance is the maintenance of fear, then you’re living under authoritarian rule.

There are clear signs that is the case in the United States right now. One of the dominant forces driving politics in the United States today is fear, far beyond anything that preceded it. 

Fear is always part of how governments stay in power, including the most benign democracies. Fear of breaking the law deters crime, to some degree. Fear of getting a ticket keeps speeds low and cars parked in the right places. Fear of financial disaster motivates people to file their taxes. 

These are not the only way that citizens and their government should interact, however. Politics should also appeal to the better angels of our nature, to use Lincoln’s phrase. Belief in the legitimacy of the government is another important element. The most basic faith in, or tolerance for, the people occupying important positions, regardless of whether we agree with everything they say or do, is another component. Similar tolerance for our fellow citizens is just as vital to the sustainment of a decent society.

But when clouds of fear fill all political spaces, then you know the situation has qualitatively changed. 

Fear among supporters

Fear is one of the dominant emotions among the supporters of the current regime. The engines of fear pump those clouds non-stop, on social media, YouTube channels, podcasts, and cable news. Immigrants, liberals, minorities, trans people, scientists, phantom cabals – we all know the list of enemies that they want people to fear. 

The clouds of fear are so poisonous, so vast, that they strangle any concern about policy, the actual work of government. The Fox News viewers, FaceBook group members, and podcast subscribers might know, in minute detail, the latest conspiracy theory, the latest crime committed by an undocumented person, the latest distortment of a statement by a Democratic politician. But they don’t know who their Congressional representative is, what bills they’re considering, or how those bills might help or hurt their lives. They know that they hate public health figures like Fauci, but they know nothing about the public health policies they promote. All they know is that they should be afraid someone, or something, somewhere. That’s what ultimately matters. 

Fear among the wavering

Fear is what is keeping many Republican officials in line. Fear of the threatening phone call in the night. Fear of the SUV parked across the street from their home. Fear of what might happen in a public appearance. Fear of gun-toting people who show up to those events. Fear of when, after being accused of a RINO, or singled out by the current occupant,  the threat of violence becomes manifest. 

This is not to excuse the elected and appointed officials who fall into this category. If they lack the courage and conviction to face these fears, they can always resign and not be party to an authoritarian seizure of power, under a fascist banner. For our purposes, it’s just important to recognize that, when you hear the phrase “spineless Republicans,” what has helped melt their allegiance to American political institutions and principles.

Fear among overt opponents

If you go to a protest, facial recognition technology might transfer your identity to law enforcement. If you write an editorial in a college newspaper, you might be kidnapped by masked goons and stripped of your student visa. If you contribute to an organization unpopular in Trumpian circles, you might be scrutinized. If you post a political cartoon on social media, you might be targeted by a relentless army of trolls. If you express your disgust with Trump too loudly when dining with friends in a restaurant, someone might follow you to your car.

Lowered voices, self-censorship, avoidance of politics – these are the ways in which fear neutralizes active opposition. It’s not just fear of retaliation from the government. The climate of terror encourages us to be afraid of our fellow citizens. The risk of stochastic violence is just as scary as concerning as worries about abuse at the hands of the police, tax officials, or other agents of government.

Fear among everyone else

Watching this Grand Guignol horrorfest unfold, politics becomes more than just a “turn-off” to people who have no strong opinions either way, for the moment. They’re deterred from ever becoming more active, if they see some Trumpian action that they oppose, for fear of being sucked into this vortex. They, too, are smothered by the clouds of fear, and many see that fleeing the political space altogether is their best choice.

Why is this important?

This is the country in which we now live, a republic of fear. And the fear grows worse daily. 

Other countries have suffered the same fate in the past, so we should not be deluded that what we’re seeing isn’t the rapid unfolding of authoritarianism here. We should learn from their misfortune, not continue deluding ourselves that it can’t happen here. The pervasive, choking atmosphere of fear is one of the clearest signs that it is happening here.

It’s also important to recognize that, when fear becomes the dominant political emotion, “normal” political rules don’t operate. Fear inspires both rational and irrational choices. It makes people lose faith in the institutions that are supposed to help them, especially when those institutions are visibly turning against them. Fear separates us from our fellow citizens, either because they menace us, or they don’t seem to be able to help us. Fear inspires the fearful into lashing out in stupid, destructive ways. These aren’t the conditions for principled debate, reasoned compromise, or patient tolerance. 

Because the normal rules aren’t operating, we should have less hope in rescue scenarios that depend on normality. Pressing that contribution button in a fundraising email is going to do what, exactly, to dispel or oppose this climate of fear? Will the next bit of bad economic news, or the next occupation of an American city, or Trump’s support for tyrants, finally cause “the backlash” to start, or “the fever to break,” or other hazily-defined outcomes to occur? Or will fear still hold this country in place where we are?

Again, the history of other countries is instructive here. The opponents of authoritarianism – Mandela, Gandhi, Solzhenitsyn, Navalny, Romero, Malala, and many others – set a common example: without a mastery of our fears, we can do no good. We can’t grant the authors of these fears that victory.