New beginnings are typically a time for optimism. Yet, the prevailing disposition of those in my social orbit is decidedly pessimistic. My neighbors and associates routinely discuss exit strategies for when America slides into chaos or worse. All that may be idle chatter, of course, but the angst-ridden discussions reflect a deep, fundamental national pathology. We are no longer a confident nation.

I’m not quite sure why the pessimism is so deep now. When I was born, the world was divided into deeply divisive ideologies (Facism, Communism, and democracy) embattled in a world conflict. When I came of age, America still practiced legal apartheid for minority citizens and faced urban violence as those treated poorly demanded their rights. It was not as if I could look back to some golden age when we all got along.

And yet, there was a feeling of optimism back then. As I have oft mentioned, a poor and working class kid like myself could work his way through college and move up the socio-economic ladder. It was rather easily done. The opportunities available to white kids like me would soon be available to all, or so we imagined. We would see to that when we took control of the levers of power.

What we could not envision was the backlash of the entrenched elite. From the days of the plantation owners of the South and the robber barons of the North, a small group of financial winners worked to employ government to maintain, even increase, their advantages. They were never unified, of course, and faced periodic backlashes, but this remains a constant in America’s political life … will government serve a wealthy minority or the majority.

Today’s pessimism is based on the presumption that even the appearance of democracy will soon be swept away. The 2024 election increasingly is seen as a choice between a constitutional government, as imperfect as it is, and an authoritarian replacement adhering to the right-wing principles of white nationalism and religious extremism which would also serve the interests of the economic elite. Most neutral observers scoff at the dire predictions of a political apocalypse, but warnings even by sober analysts are increasing. Let us not forget what happened in Germany before Hitler assumed control.

Still, it seems ridiculous to believe that the long experiment in American democracy might be abandoned, and not from an external threat but by internal choice. How could that happen?

Well? We ought not forget that there has long been a strong authoritarian element in the U.S. The federal government routinely called out troops to protect the interests of industrialists in the late 19th century. The Palmer raids after WWI rounded up thousands of immigrants on specious charges of being threats and jailed or deported these poor souls. In the 20s, the KKK grew so large that it controlled several state governments and marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in the thousands. In the run up to WWII, many in the U.S. supported Fascist thought, and Hitler, the Silver Shirts and American Bund being examples. And let us never forget how the Communist hysteria of the 1950s led to McCarthyism and the crushing of free speech and thought in America. While the 60s generated a few leftist groups (the SDS Weathermen and the Black Panthers), hundreds of right-wing militia and hate groups continue to flourish to this day.

No, a strong authoritarian streak has always been part of the American fabric. My take is that it is part of the price we pay for a heterogeneous society, one where diverse groups must compete and find a way to get along. That is never easy, of course, and leads to much finger-pointing and scape-goating. It is always easier to ‘blame the other guy’ than to seek common solutions. The American myth of individualism and the ‘strong man’ doesn’t help, suggesting that a dog-eat-dog world is the natural order of things. Cooperation, and notions of the common good, appear foreign to us.

The choice before us in 2024 is whether we will continue to work toward a diverse, inclusive society (which we have never fully realized) or whether we acquiesce to being ruled by an economic and racial elite. The latter makes governing easier since diversity is ignored. But this ease of governing comes at an enormous cost … crushing the aspirations of the many who are not part of the favored group.

The American choice is also a proxy for a larger, more global contest. Can we begin to work together on matters essential to the survival of the species or will be continue to spat over trivial, even meaningless, national issues. In the end, we are one people, floating on a precarious planet in an infinite universe. ♾️ Better that we understand how vulnerable is our situation and adopt a collaborative model of governance.

Perhaps the American election in 2024 is a litmus test for our larger fates. If so, let us hope for a fortuitous outcome. Our very future may depend on it.