Don’t worry, democracy will survive this election

“It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”   — R.E.M., 1987

The anxiety level among the American electorate is expanding exponentially as we approach the Nov. 5 election. With most polls indicating the race for the presidency is a statistical dead heat, voters are coming to the realization that their candidate may not be successful. 

In a less polarizing year, such realizations would not create the panic that we are seeing now. Due to the super-charged hyperbole and rhetoric of this year’s election, tens of millions of Americans fear the balloting this fall will mark the end of our democracy and the rise of a fascist state.

Both the Republican and Democratic candidates for president, their sycophants and their allies in the social and mass media have repeatedly claimed that the candidate they oppose is a fascist and a threat to democracy. Comparisons to Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler have been made of both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, given their respective campaign slogans, oratories and policies. It is argued by both sides that this will be our last election if the other side wins.

It is accurate that on Monday, Jan. 30, 1933, after a series of electoral victories by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, Adolf Hitler was legally appointed chancellor of Germany by German President Paul von Hindenburg. Democracy in that case had indeed laid the foundation for its own destruction. However, the widespread Nazi militaristic infrastructure had already been built long before that election and appointment took place.

For example, according to the Chicago Daily Tribune, the evening after Hitler was appointed chancellor, a pre-existing and well-organized fascist element was very active: “Tonight, 70,000 khaki-clad Nazi storm troops and members of the Steel Helmet War Veterans’ association in field gray uniforms marched in triumphal torchlight processions through the middle of Brandenburg gate … to the chancellor’s palace to pay homage to Hitler,” the newspaper reported on its front page on Jan. 31, 1933.

In addition, in 1932, the year before Hitler’s appointment as chancellor, the Hitler Youth had grown to 107,956.

Such a militaristic fascist infrastructure coordinated by our political candidates does not exist in the United States. A fascist takeover of America, like what happened in Nazi Germany, is highly unlikely after this election, no matter which candidate wins.

Hitler and his cronies took advantage of a dying and feeble Weimar Republic to ascend to power. For over 10 years, they slowly built their ranks and attacked and destroyed elements that opposed them. Such a full-blown fascist movement does not exist in the United States today. 

Additionally, the U.S. is a vibrant democratic republic that has overcome several threats to its existence. Our main strength is in the rule of law. Our legal system has rightfully held the Capitol rioters of Jan. 6, 2021, accountable. It has also upheld the validity and result of the 2020 presidential election. President Joe Biden is the legitimate and legal president of our nation. Former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

While I understand the passion people feel for this upcoming election and the candidates they support, our democracy is not on the line. The direction our country will take will indeed be changed by the outcome of the voting. As a citizen of this great nation, you should vote and participate in our democracy.

Furthermore, be prepared for your candidate to legally lose the upcoming election. If that happens, you should get even more involved in politics. If candidates from “the other side” are anti-democratic now, they probably will remain so while in office.

It is not, however, the end of the world as we know it. All will be fine on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024.

Dave Berger of Maple Grove is a retired sociology professor, freelance writer and author.

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