Indifference is strangling American democracy

Twenty-four years ago, on December 31, 1999, President Bill Clinton closed the 20th century from the Lincoln Memorial with these closing words — the last spoken in the 20th century by an American president: 

Now, we're just moments from that new millennium. Two centuries ago, as the framers were crafting our Constitution, Benjamin Franklin was often seen in Independence Hall looking at a painting of the sun low on the horizon. When, at long last, the Constitution finally was signed, Mr. Franklin, said: "I have often wondered whether that sun was rising or setting. Today I have the happiness to know it is a rising sun." 

Well, two centuries later, we know the sun will always rise on America, as long as each new generation lights the fire of freedom. Our children are ready. So, again, the torch is passed -- to a new century of young Americans!

A quarter century ago, President Clinton spoke triumphantly and optimistically about the conclusion of the “American Century,” at the dawn of an era of possibility.

Here is another excerpt:

As we marvel at the changes of the last hundred years, we dream of what changes the next hundred, and the next thousand, will bring. And as powerful as our memories are, our dreams must be even stronger. For when our memories outweigh our dreams we become old, and it is the eternal destiny of America to remain forever young, always reaching beyond, always becoming, as our founders pledged, a more perfect union. So we Americans must not fear change. Instead, let us welcome it, embrace it, and create it. 

The great story of the 20th century is the triumph of freedom and free people, a story told in the drama of new immigrants, the struggles for equal rights, the victories over totalitarianism, the stunning advances in economic well-being, in culture, in health, in space and telecommunications, and in building a world in which more than half the people live under governments of their own choosing, for the first time in all history. We must never forget the meaning of the 20th century, or the gifts of those who worked and marched, who fought and died, for the triumph of freedom. 

So as we ring in this new year, in a new century, in a new millennium, we must, now and always, echo Dr. King, in the words of the old American hymn, "Let freedom ring."

If the story of the 20th century is the triumph of freedom, what will the story of the 21st century be? Let it be the triumph of freedom wisely used, to bring peace to a world in which we honor our differences, and even more, our common humanity. Such a triumph will require great efforts from us all. It will require us to stand against the forces of hatred and bigotry, terror and destruction. It will require us to continue to prosper, to alleviate poverty, to better balance the demands of work and family, and to serve each of us in our communities.

Yale University’s Dr.

Timothy Snyder

is one of the world’s foremost experts on totalitarianism, fascism and tyranny. He compares this moment to 1938:

We are in 1938 now. If Czechs had resisted Nazi Germany at the time, there would have been no WWII. If Ukraine gives up or we give up, we will move to 1939. Ukraine helps us to extend 1938.

How did this happen? How did this come to be? 

A large part of the answer can be found in the concluding paragraphs of one of the most remarkable and enraging articles I have ever read, which was authored by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, which appeared in The Atlantic:

Today, for most Americans, the global War on Terror has become a hazy memory from the time before Donald Trump. In Washington, policy makers avoid discussing the subject. Yet it bears remembering: It cost us $6 trillion, and that number is expected to go higher because of the long-term health-care costs for veterans. It turned the Middle East upside down, increasing the regional influence of Iran. More than 7,000 American servicemen and women died in action; 30,000 more, an extraordinary number, died by suicide. In all, more than 800,000 Iraqis, Afghans, and others, most of them civilians, perished in the war.

The War on Terror and its origins in 9/11 are seen in retrospect as farce and tragedy. But the emerging picture of the preparations for 9/11 make recognizing the sheer scale of the blunder inescapable.

What lies ahead is something terrible, and it is coming hard and fast. Even if Joe Biden wins the election 167 days from now, it will not be accepted by Donald Trump and America’s fascist party. 

The great Republican Party is dead. All that remains of it is a glorious name hijacked and desecrated. The MAGA movement is at war with the United States Constitution and freedom, and mostly, the American media can’t comprehend what is happening or why. 

I have done my best to explain it. 

During the early moments of mayhem on January 6, a chyron on CNN was calling the insurrectionists “protesters.”  It was always clear what was happening. Here is my tweet about it, and below is what I said about that day:  

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Four years later, it has all come to pass. The simple truth is that Trump has never been politically stronger. He is winning, and though he can be stopped, time is running out. 

Pope Francis talked about a global crisis of indifference during his historic “60 Minutes” interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell:

Please, we have to get our hearts to feel again. We cannot remain indifferent in the face of such human dramas. The globalisation of indifference is a very ugly disease. Very ugly.

Indifference.

Indifference was the theme of another speech given at the end of the 20th century by Elie Wiesel at the White House in 1999, which I have previously described as the 20th century’s valedictory address:

His lessons were not heeded. 

Indifference is strangling American democracy and tearing at the fabric that binds us together. It must be opposed. It must be stopped. 

Donald Trump has been perfectly clear about what is coming, but apparently the American people cannot see it and cannot hear it. I wonder why.

The lack of imagination about the disaster coming is nothing new. It is the story of the 20th century. 

“Never Again” was never a marketing cliché. They were words written in blood and seared into human consciousness by a profoundly evil force that is rising again in a new form, an American form. They were supposed to have meaning and durability. MAGA is their eraser. 

All Americans of good faith and goodwill must come together and make an American stand. 

What does an American stand look like? 

It looks like this:

Martin Luther King Jr. leads marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, March 21, 1965 (AP)

There is another symbol that has has always opposed Americanism. It is this: 

It is the symbol of Trump and the symbol of MAGA. It is the banner of their lost cause and revanchist dreams. It is a symbol of hate, division, supremacy and violence. It represents the choice at hand.

Do we want this…

…or this?

A ‘Stop the Steal” flag displayed at Justice Samuel Alito’s home after the 2020 election (The New York Times)

The choice is perfectly clear. 

The question is: are we blind? 

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