Political violence has no place in democracy, and yet we are witnessing a much faster rise in political violence and threats of violence than ever before. It should be clear to everyone that the tools of political life in a democracy are debate, persuasion and voting, all peaceful forms of expression. They take place within the framework of freedom of speech, assembly and the press, all of which are vital to democracy.
We must return American democracy to that standard from the current atmosphere of threats of violence. People who bring the threat of violence into our democracy poison our political life. The violence was most obviously and dramatically introduced on January 6, 2021, when people encouraged by Donald Trump attempted to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory at the U.S. Capitol. There was even an attempt to create false electoral slates to undermine the previous operation of the Electoral College.
People can be put on the path to political violence by the extreme language they hear and use. The language of extremism demeans and dehumanizes opponents. If we look at violent revolutions of the past, we see that their first and ongoing act is to place their opponents in a subhuman category. Think of Hitler’s efforts to dehumanize Jews and other people so that they could be eliminated entirely. Categorizing opponents as subhuman is a fundamental pattern of authoritarian violence.
The most recent example of this is the new book “Unhumans” by Jack Posobiec, a major proponent of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory. JD Vance even included a promotional copy for the book. In the book, Posobiec argues that “leftists” do not deserve the status of human beings and are, as the title suggests, inhuman. He claims that “leftists” are waging a shadow war against everything good and decent that will end in apocalyptic carnage if they are not stopped. He says, “Because they are against humanity itself, they place themselves entirely outside the category, into an entirely new, misery-driven division, the inhuman.”
Political competition is inevitable in societies, but a democratic society must maintain competition in a non-violent manner. Political extremism on either side can turn violent. We heard this kind of language early on in Trump’s appeal, and his supporters echoed it: “Lock her up,” in reference to Hillary Clinton. It is ironic and a just consequence of Trump’s language that he may now be “locked up,” having been convicted of 34 felonies with more to come. Certainly many of his supporters have been legitimately locked up for violence.
While America has failed to succumb to the power of left or right extremism, we have nonetheless moved in an extremist direction. This is especially true for those in the Republican Party who seek to return to power through the presidency. The path favored by leading Republicans is a start on the road to a nondemocratic system in which authority is centralized in the executive branch. This draws them to Trump’s autocratic tendencies. Donald Trump may not have a fully developed plan in mind, but he wants to regain the power he once had and welcomes support from those who advance the extremist power of the presidency, as proposed by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
Political extremism aims at concentrating power in an autocrat and is therefore undemocratic. The democratic system distributes power throughout the government. We know that democracy inherently requires humility from its participants. Humility requires recognition of the equality and dignity of others as individuals and the contribution of the different parts of democracy. A democracy is based on cooperation and compromise. This is the mindset of people in democratic governments. This helps them avoid going down the path of extremism that ends in an autocratic, anti-democratic system.
A democracy is based on people who value integrity and decency. Yes, decency that respects the humanity of others. That is the most important tradition in America. Extremism that demeans others in speech and deed is rejected as poison to the system.
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The Rev. Robert L. Montgomery, Ph.D., lives in Black Mountain.
