“When democracy and the “republic become a threat rather than a shield for white supremacy they face desecration and asphyxiation.” John Johnson II 09/09/26
By John Johnson II
September 11, 2001, remains one of America’s most horrifying days of infamy. Thousands of people suffered needless deaths, buildings destroyed, and symbols of American economic and military power did not prevent this attacked. Yet amid death, rubble, and grief, Americans did not surrender hope. They pulled together and rebuilt.
Today, America confronts a profoundly different danger—one that raises an unsettling question: Could democracy face desecration and the Republic slowly asphyxiated without Americans recognizing the emergency?
Democracy does not require collapsing skyscrapers to face endangerment. Its foundations are institutions and norms: free and fair elections, voting rights, constitutional checks and balances, congressional oversight, judicial independence, free press, truthful public information, and the rule of law.
Federal authorities have intensified scrutiny of voter rolls and noncitizen voting. The Justice Department has sought statewide voter-registration lists for investigations and has prosecuted individual cases of illegal noncitizen voting. Meanwhile, the SAVE America Act would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration. Critics of such requirements warn that eligible citizens lacking readily available qualifying documents could encounter greater difficulty registering.
At what point does protecting election integrity risk making lawful voting more difficult?
Repeated claims of “rigged” elections through illegal voting by noncitizens create another consequential debate. Illegal voting requires investigating and prosecuting wherever evidence establishes it. But allegations about widespread election corruption should likewise need supporting evidence. What happens to democracy when citizens lose confidence in the ballot itself?
Constitutional concerns extend beyond elections. In Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court held that a former president has absolute immunity from prosecution for conduct within his exclusive constitutional authority, presumptive immunity for other official acts, and no immunity for unofficial acts. Critics contend that such developments, combined with what they regard as inadequate congressional oversight, risk weakening traditional checks on executive power.
Then comes the politics of distraction.
War with Iran, tariffs, immigration enforcement, and Americans’ continuing concerns about affordability are consequential issues. But citizens can ask whether intense attention to these controversies leaves insufficient public attention for quieter changes involving voting, executive authority, congressional power, and democratic institutions.
While Americans watch everything else, who is watching democracy? Political scientists have argued is a segment of conservatives willing to surrender their freedoms for an exclusive authoritarian government?
The Jeffrey Epstein saga offers a limited but sobering analogy about institutional responsibility. A Justice Department review concluded that Epstein’s victims did not receive the forthrightness and sensitivity the Department expected. The comparison is not between Epstein’s crimes and political disagreements. It concerns the danger of warnings inadequately confronted and people becoming indifferent to institutional failure.
That brings America directly to this article’s metaphor.
Democracy’s desecration needs not occur in one catastrophic moment. The Republic’s asphyxiation can occur gradually when the institutional oxygen sustaining constitutional government diminishes.
Our government watched terrorists of 9/11 murdered Americans and destroyed buildings. Now political critics point to President Trump and MAGA as a greater threat to America’s constitutional government survival. Conservative critics level similar complaints against the opposing political party.
Today’s challenge demands another kind of vigilance.
Will Americans recognize threats to democratic institutions before discovering that, while watching everything else, their Republic has been struggling to breathe?
#QuestionWhatYouBelieve!