Which Side Are You On?

Which Side Are You On?
Nicholas Johnson
The Gazette, July 26, 2022, p. A6
In a panel discussion of whether America’s difficulties were the fault of media or politicians, Congressman Barney Frank interjected, “Our constituents aren’t all that great either.”

Abraham Lincoln, like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson before him, warned of the fragility of a democracy confronting an authoritarian-driven mob: “And when such a one does [appear] it will require the people to be united with each other, attached to the government and laws, and generally intelligent, to successfully frustrate his designs.”

The House Select January 6 Committee’s investigation of officials encouraging authoritarian dictatorship is essential – in a country where 44% of U.S. households, 50 percent of Republicans and 18 percent of Democrats have guns.

And yes, a democracy requires independent, respected institutions, such as judges and courts, human rights and voting rights, newspapers and libraries.

However, as with Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson’s oft-quoted preference of “newspapers without government” (over “government without newspapers”) was followed with the less mentioned, “but I should mean that every [person] should receive those papers and be capable of reading them.”

Both Jefferson and Lincoln were emphasizing the need to prepare us as citizens.

Americans will someday search for the enemy who caused our democracy to crumble and wash away, like sandcastles at the seashore. They will discover, as Walt Kelly’s cartoon Pogo observed, “we have met the enemy and he is us.”

The founders realized all Americans would need to be well informed and involved to function as democracy’s governors. They made it job one for each of us. Volunteers, handsomely paid with the rights and freedoms of democracy, in exchange for responsibilities willingly accepted.

To train us they provided free public education. Iowa created more one-room schoolhouses than any other state (12,000-plus). To create the social benefits of easily accessible information the founders created a postal service with reduced rates for books, magazines, newspapers and nonprofits. The colonial libraries have expanded to over 9,000 today – 542 in Iowa.

Each of us can help keep our democracy – or push us further down the slope to fascist dictatorship – in hundreds of little and big ways each day. Whether you chose to praise our election officials, teachers and librarians – or drive them to resign (as in Vinton). Whether you choose to subscribe or advertise in newspapers.

Whether you volunteer in political campaigns, contribute what you can, and never miss voting. Stay informed about policy and politics, while questioning unsupported assertions. Learn enough about other democracies evolution into authoritarian states to spot those changes here. Participate in neighborhood associations and civic organizations.

Pew reports only 40 percent of Americans are committed to democracy. A third of Republicans and 17 percent of Democrats say, “a strong leader who can govern without interference from other branches of government is a good thing.”

“Which side are you on, boys?” union organizers sang in 1930s Harlan, Kentucky. It’s a question you must answer today. The most important decision you’ll ever make. You can’t sit this one out.

Which side are you on?

[Photo source: "Harlan County War," wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County_War] _______________
Nicholas Johnson is the author of Columns of Democracy. Contact mailbox@nicholasjohnson.org

SOURCES
Barney Frank. The quote is from memory. I heard him say it. But I cannot find a source where it is reported or recall the details.

“Barney Frank,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Frank#Public_image (“In 2004 and again in 2006, a survey of Capitol Hill staffers published in Washingtonian [magazine] gave Frank the title of the ‘brainiest,’ ‘funniest,’ and ‘most eloquent’ member of the House.”)

Abraham Lincoln. “Report of Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, 27 January 1838, ‘The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions,” (full text Lincoln speech), https://papersofabrahamlincoln.org/documents/D200130 (See full paragraph beginning: “The question recurs “how shall we fortify against it?”)

George Washington. “Washington’s Farewell Address to the People of the United States,” Sept. 19, 1796, U.S. Senate, https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf

(“Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.”)

Thomas Jefferson. See below.

January 6 Committee. “Select Committee to Investigate the January 6xth Attack on the United States Capitol,” https://january6th.house.gov/

Gun ownership. Lydia Saad, “What Percentage of Americans Own Guns?” Gallup News, https://news.gallup.com/poll/264932/percentage-americans-own-guns.aspx

32% of Americans own guns; 44% live in a gun household “Republicans (50%), rural residents (48%), men (45%), self-identified conservatives (45%) and Southerners (40%) are the most likely subgroups to say they personally own a gun. Liberals (15%), Democrats (18%), non-White Americans (18%), women (19%) and Eastern residents (21%) are the least likely to report personal gun ownership.”

Thomas Jefferson. “Jefferson Quotes & Family Letters,” Monticello, https://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/1289

(“Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.” … (“the basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter, but I should mean that every man should receive those papers & be capable of reading them.”)

Pogo/“we have met the enemy.” “Pogo (comic strip),” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogo_%28comic_strip%29 (page contains image of strip with that quote)

Iowa schoolhouses. “A Walk Through Iowa’s One-Room Schoolhouses,” Iowa Department of Education,” https://educateiowa.gov/walk-through-iowa-s-one-room-schoolhouses

(“Take the one-room school house, once ubiquitous across Iowa’s country landscape. Numbering an astonishing 12,000 to 14,000 at one time, depending on what report you use, Iowa had more one-room school houses than any other state in the union.”)

Postal Service and reduced rates. “A Brief History of Preferred Postal Rates,” U.S. Postal Service Inspector General, Aug. 20, 2012, https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog/brief-history-preferred-postage-rates

(“Since the beginning of the Post Office and the Postal Act of 1792, certain types of mail have qualified for lower postage through preferred rates. It was assumed that these types of mailings yield social benefits for senders, recipients, and more importantly, a large nation. Preferred rates’ roots trace to the first federal postal policy, which recognized that disseminating newspapers at below-cost postage would advance the important social goal of educating the electorate. Soon after, magazines received special rates. For its first 50 years, the Post Office was predominantly a newspaper circulation service . . ..”)

Vinton librarians. Gage Miskimen, “With another leader leaving, Vinton Public Library closes for now; Library lost 2 directors in 2 years amid resident complaints,” The Gazette, July 9, 2022, https://www.thegazette.com/news/with-another-leader-leaving-vinton-public-library-closes-for-now/

(“The library board met Tuesday to accept the resignation of Colton Neely, the interim director. Neely, formerly the library’s children’s director, will become a museum curator in Burlington. . . . Most recently departing the library before Neely was Renee Greenlee, its director for six months. She had been the children’s and family services library assistant at the Marion Public Library and had worked at the Hiawatha Public Library and the Kirkwood Community College library. Greenlee, who left the Vinton post in May and started a new job at the Cedar Rapids Public Library, declined to comment. . . . Vinton also saw another director, Janette McMahon, resign in July 2021. She now is director of the DeWitt Public Library in Clinton County.

McMahon previously told The Gazette that she received complaints about children’s books on display, including “Joey,” written by first lady Jill Biden, and “Superheroes Are Everywhere” by Vice President Kamala Harris. She said some residents argued the library should have more books about former Republican President Donald Trump on display.

“I can’t buy what doesn’t exist, and there weren’t quality books about Trump.”)

Gage Miskimen, “Two directors quit Vinton library after complaints about hirings, LGBTQ and Biden books,” The Gazette, June 20/July 10, 2022, Thegazette.com/news/two-directors-quit-vinton-library-after-complaints-about-hirings-lgbtq-and-biden-books/

Gage Miskimen, “Vinton Library to Reopen Monday with Limited Hours,” The Gazette, July 15, 2022, p. A1

(“closed this week after losing its interim director — and, before that, two directors in two years — will reopen for limited hours beginning Monday.

Marandah Mangra-Dutcher, “Johnson County librarians oppose Iowa bills looking to change intellectual freedom,” The Daily Iowan, March 20, 2022, https://dailyiowan.com/2022/03/20/johnson-county-librarians-oppose-iowa-bills-looking-to-change-intellectual-freedom/

David Sye, “Beyond Book Banning: Efforts to Criminally Charge Librarians,” Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association, March 8, 2022, https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/beyond-book-banning-efforts-to-criminally-charge-librarians/

Vinton, Iowa, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinton,_Iowa

Marcela Cabello and Stuart M. Butler, “How Public Libraries Help Build Healthy Communities,” Brookings, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2017/03/30/how-public-libraries-help-build-healthy-communities/

(“According to a 2015 Pew survey, almost two-thirds of adult Americans say that closing their local library would have a major impact on their community. As Pew found, over 90 percent of adults think of public libraries as “welcoming and friendly places,” and about half have visited or otherwise used a public library in the last 12 months.”)

Crystle Martin, “Who says libraries are dying? They are evolving into spaces for innovation,” theconversation.com, Aug. 19, 2015, https://theconversation.com/who-says-libraries-are-dying-they-are-evolving-into-spaces-for-innovation-44820

(“many of today’s public libraries are taking on newer roles. They are offering programs in technology, career and college readiness and also in innovation and entrepreneurship – all 21st-century skills, essential for success in today’s economy.”

Pew authoritarian study. Richard Wike, Katie Simmons, Bruce Stokes and Janell Fetterolf, “Globally, Broad Support for Representative and Direct Democracy,” Pew Research Center, October 16, 2017, https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2017/10/16/globally-broad-support-for-representative-and-direct-democracy/

(“Unconstrained executive power also has its supporters. In 20 countries, a quarter or more of those polled think a system in which a strong leader can make decisions without interference from parliament or the courts is a good form of government.”

[Info in chart; not quotation. U.S. 40% committed to democracy; additional 44% willing to consider non-democratic alternatives]

“And in the U.S., a third of Republicans say a strong leader who can govern without interference from other branches of government is a good thing, compared with 20% of independents and 17% of Democrats.”)

Which side are you on? “Which Side Are You On?” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Which_Side_Are_You_On%3F (origins),

“Which Side Are You On?” (song; 1941 recording by Almanac Singers including Pete Seeger, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEwE0R_7TDc&t=17s (or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEwE0R_7TDc)

Harlan, Kentucky. “Harlan County War,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County_War

(“The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal mining-related skirmishes, executions, bombings, and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s. The incidents involved coal miners and union organizers on one side, and coal firms and law enforcement officials on the other.[1] The question at hand: the rights of Harlan County coal miners to organize their workplaces and better their wages and working conditions. It was a nearly decade-long conflict, lasting from 1931 to 1939. Before its conclusion, an indeterminate number of miners, deputies, and bosses would be killed, state and federal troops would occupy the county more than half a dozen times, two acclaimed folk singers would emerge, union membership would oscillate wildly, and workers in the nation's most anti-labor coal county would ultimately be represented by a union.”)

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Tags: Abraham Lincoln, authoritarian, Barney Frank, democracy, education, George Washington, citizen governors, guns, Harlan County War, House Jan 6 Committee, January 6, Thomas Jefferson

The Day Democracy Died

Listening to Washington and McLean
Nicholas Johnson
The Gazette, June 22, 2022, p. A6

George Washington warned his “Friends and Fellow-Citizens” there could be days like this in his farewell address of September 19, 1796. Political parties could become “potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled . . . to usurp for themselves the reins of government.” [Photo credit: wikimedia commons; Gilbert Stuart painting.]

Individuals may then “seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction . . . turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the ruins of public liberty.”

“[L]et there be no change by usurpation; . . . it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.”

Are you old enough to remember the lyrics to Don McLean’s song, “American Pie,” about “the day the music died”?

It will be nothing to sing about, but we’re headed toward “the day democracy died.” Some say it’s already dead. “The day democracy died” was January 6, 2021.

It’s more complicated than that.

Like preparing your garden soil in the spring, a democracy can only grow in a nation with, one, a civil society of non-governmental and non-business organizations – from Rotary Clubs to garden clubs, trade unions to Wordle groups. And, two, people who understand and reject authoritarian rule, and affirmatively seek democracy (as we discovered after 20 unsuccessful years in Afghanistan).

The first was found in America by de Tocqueville and published in 1835 in his “Democracy in America.”

The second was made clear by Thomas Jefferson in the 1776 Declaration of Independence, listing and charging the “King of Great Britain [with] a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny.“

Many components, properly assembled and maintained, can become a car. Similarly, a democracy only emerges with the assembly and maintenance of components. A non-political, respected judiciary. A trusted electoral system, expanding participants and easing voting.

Thomas Jefferson considered independent media so essential to democracy that choosing “government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

George Washington thought education a component. “In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.”

How to destroy a democracy? As the Nazi Hermann Goering explained, “it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship . . .. It works the same in any country.”

The authoritarian’s playbook isn’t complicated. You destroy the public’s trust in its democratic institutions. Promote divisiveness, fear and anger. Repeat “the big lie” until it’s believed by the faithful. Convince the public the media is “the enemy of the people.”

Or, as in Iowa currently, you attack the public education system, prescribe the books and subjects that can and can’t be taught, reduce the appropriations, demonize the teachers.

It works the same in any country. Including ours. Just like George Washington warned us.
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Nicholas Johnson is the author of Columns of Democracy. Website: nicholasjohnson.org Contact: mailbox@nicholasjohnson.org
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SOURCES
Washington’s Farewell Address. “Washington’s Farewell Address to the People of the United States,” Sept. 19, 1796, U.S. Senate, https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf

“[A]void the necessity of those overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.” p. 8

“However combinations or associations . . . may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely . . . to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.” p. 12

“I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state . . .. Let me now . . . warn you . . . against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally. This spirit . . . exists under different shapes in all governments, . . . but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness and is truly their worst enemy.

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension [and] the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries . . . gradually incline . . . men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the ruins of public liberty.” pp. 13-14

“[L]et there be no change by usurpation; . . . it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.” p. 16

“But if I may even flatter myself that they [these words] may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good, that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism -- this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated.” (italics added) p. 24

Other:

“Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.”
. . .
“avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear.” p. 17

The day the music died. Lyrics to Don McLean’s song, “American Pie.” Don McLean, “American Pie (Full Length Version),” Lyrics, https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/14026136/American+Pie+%28Full+Length+Version%29

January 6, 2021. Nicholas Fandos and Emily Cochrane, “After Pro-Trump Mob Storms Capitol, Congress Confirms Biden’s Win; A normally ceremonial ritual in Congress exploded into chaos as protesters, egged on by President Trump, forced their way into the Capitol to stop the counting of electoral votes to confirm President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory,” New York Times, January 7, 2021, p. A1, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/congress-gop-subvert-election.html

Peter Baker, “A Mob and the Breach of Democracy: The Violent End of the Trump Era; Those who warned of worst-case scenarios under President Trump — only to be dismissed as alarmists — found some of their darkest fears realized in the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday,” New York Times, January 7, 2021, p. A1, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-congress.html

Democracy in America. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, vol. II, Sec. 2 (See headings, “Of the Uses which the Americans Make of Public Associations; Of the Relation of Public Associations and the Newspapers; Relation of Civil to Political Associations”), 1835, https://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/DETOC/toc_indx.html.

Declaration of Independence. “Declaration of Independence: A Transcription,” America’s Founding Documents, National Archives, July 4, 1776, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

Newspapers without government. Extract from Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, Paris Jan. 16. 1787 (“the basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. but I should mean that every man should receive those papers & be capable of reading them.”) “Jefferson Quotes & Family Letters,” Monticello, https://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/1289

Washington on education (public enlightenment). “Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.” Washington Farewell Address, supra, p. 17

Hermann Goering, “the same in every country.” "Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." Nazi Germany’s Hermann Goering in 1946. [Accuracy confirmed, and source identified at: David Mikkelson, “Did a Nazi Leader Say Convincing People to Support War is ‘Simple’? Nazi Luftwaffe commander Hermann Goering was one of the highest-ranking Nazis who survived to be captured and put on trial for war crimes,” Snopes, Oct. 4, 2002, http://www.snopes.com/quotes/goering.htm; or https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/war-games/

Trump, media “the enemy of the people.” Brett Samuels, “Trump ramps up rhetoric on media, calls press ‘the enemy of the people,’” The Hill, April 5, 2019, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/437610-trump-calls-press-the-enemy-of-the-people/ (“The press is doing everything within their power to fight the magnificence of the phrase, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! They can’t stand the fact that this Administration has done more than virtually any other Administration in its first 2yrs. They are truly the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 5, 2019”

The Big Lie. “the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation.” Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, vol. I, ch. X, “Joseph Goebbels: On the ‘Big Lie,’” Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/joseph-goebbels-on-the-quot-big-lie-quot; see also, Ralph Manheim translation, Sentry Edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1943, pp. 231-232.

Attacks on public education. Todd Dorman, “Iowa Lawmakers should try transparency before they impose it on teachers,” The Gazette, March 20, 2022, https://www.thegazette.com/staff-columnists/iowa-lawmakers-should-try-transparency-before-they-impose-it-on-teachers/ (“Among the most stringent concepts being considered are provisions that would require teachers to post all of their course materials online, from book titles and articles to videos and online links to materials, twice during the school year, in August and January. School districts that violate the rules could have their state funding docked for each day of non-compliance. Wanted: Clairvoyant social studies teachers capable of predicting how world and national events might affect their curriculum.”)

Ty Rushing, “Fed Up: How Educators in Kim Reynolds’ Iowa Feel After Nonstop GOP Attacks,” Iowa Starting Line, March 4, 2022, https://iowastartingline.com/2022/03/04/fed-up-how-educators-in-kim-reynolds-iowa-feel-after-nonstop-gop-attacks/ (“There were more than 50 education bills introduced during this year’s Iowa legislative session, including proposals to place surveillance cameras in public school classrooms, ban books, jail teachers, and take funding away from public schools to support private institutions.

Republican lawmakers, who have introduced the bulk of these policies, have done so under the guises of “transparency” and “parental choice” to prohibit teachers from enacting a “sinister agenda,” as Senate President Jake Chapman phrased it on the opening day of the legislative session. Gov. Kim Reynolds has devoted much of her attention and agenda on school-related bills in recent months.

The rhetoric and policies have weighed heavily on Iowa educators this year.

‘The attacks on teachers and discussions of jail time and cameras is absolute insanity. Teachers are being singled out and disrespected. We are simply trying our best to care for kids and help them learn,’ said Salley Wieland, a Des Moines special education teacher.

‘We are educated professionals who have the ability to put our skills to use outside the classroom; many teachers have said they are leaving. I will not be returning.’”)

Bruce Lear, “A Storm’s Coming. It’s Time to Act,” Bleeding Heartland, Feb. 4, 2022, https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/02/04/a-storms-coming-its-time-to-act/ (“Here’s just some of the intensity of this storm.

First, Iowa Senate President Jake Chapman vowed to pass a law to jail educators who make books, he considers pornographic available to students. He opened the 2022 legislative session by accusing Iowa teachers of having a “sinister agenda” to harm children.

Now, he’s made good on his bullying by introducing Senate File 2198, which makes it a serious misdemeanor to knowingly distribute obscene material in school. The bill also allows a parent or guardian to sue the school for civil damages.

Chapman isn’t the only bully. In her Condition of the State address, Governor Kim Reynolds suggested Iowa public school libraries were full of dirty books that would be X-rated if they were movies. Later she proposed that all classroom syllabuses and library books be published online for parents to review.

. . .

To one up Reynolds and Chapman, Republican State Representative Norlin Mommsen introduced House File 2177. His bill would require a live feed in every Iowa public school classroom, so parents can see in real time whether teachers are corrupting the youth. Another unfunded mandate. But what about most parents, who don’t want their children on camera?”)

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