I suspect that many of us have read or heard the commencement address by documentary genius Ken Burns at Brandeis University. It was, as expected, eloquent and profound. What touched me was his allusion to what a young man said during a public speech in Springfield Illinois in 1838. That tall, lanky young man told the assemblage that the American Republic would not be destroyed by any army from a foreign shore. No, any serious attack on our institutions and our tenets of self-governance would come from within. We are our foremost worst enemy.

Of course, Ken was referencing a young Abe Lincoln who later would lead this country during a contest in which his dire prediction almost came to pass. Over 600,000 lost their lives in a civil war to test whether ‘this nation, or any nation so conceived’ could be sustained. I suspect that most have concluded that this long ago conflagration, horrific as it was, did preserve the union for all time. If only that were so.

Back then, our political landscape was a mirror image of today’s divisions and discontents. The Republican Party, born in the 1850s as the Whig Party disintegrated, would have been seen as the liberal party of that day. Republicans, in general, opposed the extension of slavery, favored public investments in infrastructure, leaned toward a stronger national government, and endorsed initiatives to improve the human capital and educational status of the nation’s citizens. Even as the civil war raged, Republicans passed legislation to establish land grant colleges, extend railroads across the country, and create a standardized national currency.

The party of Jefferson and Jackson had a distinctly separate vision for America. Democrats of that era saw nothing wrong with slavery. They disliked any (or most at least) forms of centralized control. Thus, they were strong proponents of State’s rights and local authority. It also might be argued that the Dems back then were suspicious of democracy, believing that wealth and privilege were signs denoting those who were graced by Providence to lead and govern over their less lifted brethren.

Democratic strongholds, not surprisingly, were found in Southern states (a pattern that would generally remain until the partisan realignment of the 1960s Civil rights era). The Confederacy overwhelmingly leaned to the Democratic Party. The political disposition of the Confederacy did not well serve their cause. Each state was seen as sovereign entity, much like the original Articles of Confederation did among the original colonies … an arrangement which proved a disaster. Thus, the central government in Richmond could only petition the several governors to help in the rebellion. Their core value of decentralized authority hindered any long-term pursuit of a coordinated strategy in this massive conflict of arms. Lincoln’s powers were more substantive and effective over time.

I offer the brief historical view above to suggest that while much has changed over the past 160 or so years, many things have not. The two major political parties have switched positions. The Republicans are now seen as representing conservative values that favor limited government (even though they are not consistent in this), while the Democrats are perceived as the liberal party which favors a proactive government. While this simple distinction is accurate on the surface, it fails to capture the essential differences (namely the radically distinct perceptions of society) each side embraces.

Even as the party roles were reversed over time, as they were, the two major political parties continued to embrace radically different conceptions of the good society. James Henry Hammond, a Democratic U.S. Senator, gave a speech in 1858 laying out his ‘mudsill’ theory. It was a succinct summary of the philosophy underlying the principles of his party and a justification for the exploitation of others. According to his philosophy, every society needs a docile and less educated population to do the grudge work of society. Not surprisingly, he and his compatriots saw slavery as the natural order of things. The white paid laborers in the north represented somewhat of a violation of this natural order, and posed a threat to the existing equilibrium.

In a larger sense, the then Democratic Party (like the the Republican Party now) felt more comfortable in a society where social and economic classes were rigid and hierarchical. An educated elite were rewarded for their efforts by enjoying material wealth and, by God’s graces, were destined to rule. The lower classes, while enjoying privileges that a white skin might bestow on some, could never arise above their station. That would not be natural. This view was not all that different from older, feudal organizations of European society, nor the caste system found in Asia, nor the elitist system found in 20th century Britain. Society was hierarchical, rigid, and ordained from above. Governance was authoritarian and, at best, paternalistic. Every person was relegated to their preordained place in this ordered world.

The other side saw a different vision. A persons success would be determined by their innate skills and efforts. Ideally, everyone would have an opportunity for advancement and success. Any individual ought to have an opportunity to participate in the governance of society. Thus, basic educational opportunities spread more quickly in the North while suffrage was more acceptable when it finally came to those groups who had been ignored for so long. Social mobility, the proverbial American Dream, was something to be valued and preserved and even fostered through public efforts.

Today, those two competing visions once again are vying for dominance just as they were in the anti-bellum era and as they have simmered in softly spoken, yet undeniable, ways throughout our history.

Think about the underlying message we hear from the Republican base and the wannabe despots they support. They appear quite satisfied with the hyper-inequality that has increased since the Reagan revolution in 1980. They have no problem with declining social mobility as educational opportunities are priced out of reach of the less firtunate and public educational institutions are starved of resources. They attack most forms of a liberal (in the classic sense) education as they strive to turn post secondary schools into hi-tech vocational institutions … learn to do but not to think. They try to whitewash history to sanitize the past by eliminating anything that makes kids uncomfortable.

Worse, the new Republican Party has renewed the age-old attack on universal suffrage. They have remade gerrymandering into an art form. In Wisconsin, voters statewide vote Democratic but almost two-thirds of the Assembly seats are held by Republicans due to skewed voting districts. (Note: the new State Supreme Court has addressed this farce). Where they can, Republicans continue to purge minorities from the voting rolls while making it harder to vote in general. It is difficult to sustain the majority support essential to electoral success when you continuously vote against the interests of the vast majority. They can only retain their offices either by scaring the public with bogus fears (an alien invasion) or engaging in classic forms of emotional misdirections … abortion or gun confiscation.

Ultimately, they know that retaining power over the long run will be difficult. So, the insiders have formulated more drastic measures, one being the so-called 2025 plan. If Trump gains the White House again, the hard right leaves no doubt about their intentions. They intend to fabricate an excuse to turn America from a government of laws to one run by a narcissistic strongman. They will do what they accused the Democrats of doing but without a shred of evidence.

Their new America will be based on fear, retribution, and unleashed power. Their model will be the Nazi usurpation of complete control in the weeks after Hitler was named Chancellor by President Hindenburg in 1933. Some crisis (the border or rigged elections or China) will serve as a convenient excuse to usurp more power to the center. The justice system will be weaponized to go after enemies, the civil service will be turned into a supporting cast of incompetent lackeys, and constitutional protections for average Americans will be eviscerated.

The new Republican Party has no truck with traditional democratic checks and balances. The Trump cult wants a strong man in charge who will attack all the people they despise without constraints. It will be a society where the powerful control and dominate the weak and the defenseless. It will be a society where the weak and vulnerable will be crushed and forced to serve the elite according to the ‘mudsill’ perspective of society. They seek nothing less than a return to the 1850’s south or even further back in time.

We often hear that the next election is the most important in history. This time, that assertion just may be true.