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Anne Applebaums Twilight of Democracy.

The rise of authoritarianism and divisional politics that tear friends and countries apart.

Power and influence of course. Applebaum makes her point by describing the turn of events in Poland in 2015 when voters swung to support a group of men that came to violate their constitution. They packed the Polish Supreme Court, established control of the media, fired thousands of experienced public servants replacing them with sycophants and inexperienced relatives of the party leaders.

Sounds vaguely like the Trump playbook, observed Phineas.

It got worse. They fired experienced military leaders, dismantled the diplomatic corps, and intimidated cultural institutions.

Let me guess. A sociopath used intimidation to challenge the previous administration, falsehoods to whittle away at trust in governmental institutions such as the courts and public establishments such as the free press.

He casted dispersions on civility towards Islamic citizens and immigrants, demeaning truthful and respectful discourse, I added.

All with the pretense of draining the swamp and making government more efficient, said Phineas.

Pretty much sums it up. Four years ago, here, a demagogue respecting only himself claimed to be the expert who could accomplish the necessary changes, I replied.

Trump told 30,573 falsehoods. Why did the competent and altruistic people in positions of influence abdicate their responsibilities and allow egotistical polarization to run rampant, destroying functioning democratic norms and the rule of law?

Applebaum demonstrates that polarization is the norm in many societies and sustained unity an anomaly. Rules of law are increasingly viewed with suspicion as archaic, supported by old, white men with personal agendas. The general populace generally abhors complexity and change. People tend to favor the comfort of placing their trust in a confident, even arrogant authority figure, despite the slow creeping loss of their voices in the political process.

Similar losses of autonomy occur in the corporate worlds of fashion and music, but tend to be short lived and cyclical, added an unusually astute Phineas.

Skepticism about democracy is normal. Democracy moves slowly and is inherently complicated. The cacophony in unpleasant. Sustaining a vibrant democratic system takes commitment and hard work.

We worked hard to elect President Biden, said Phineas. Hopefully we can return to trusting scientific evidence.

Advice from scientists will continue to bother people untrained in critical thinking who fall prey to glitzy, superficial social media repeating blatant lies. The easy appeal of authoritarianism is eternal.

I remember reading The Mouse That Roared, recalled Phineas. The Dutchy of Grand Fenwick was run by a benevolent dictator. The citizens loved it.

Jefferson was concerned the uneducated masses could win control of government by the popular vote. He introduced the Electoral College, giving the Senate final decision to certify the Presidential victory.

Unfortunately, irrational passions can lead to destructive anger as we saw on January 6th.

Perhaps that riot was a poorly attempted coup against our seat of Democracy.

Applebaum sounds like a good read.

Read it now or live it later.

Greg Kujala is a resident of Winchester.

The rest is here:
Open forum: Phineas on the 'Twilight of Democracy' - The Winchester Star