Democracy is doomed

A repairman in his early twenties worked on my house yesterday. He was very polite and very thorough about his work. He spoke about his wife and his five-year old son. I asked if he always worked alone. He said he knew the job at my house was going to be very meticulous so he asked his boss to send his co-worker, who was originally from Honduras, with another crew yesterday. He did not speak ill of his co-worker, but instead talked about how his co-worker often got in a hurry and was not concerned with being precise because he wanted to impress their boss with how fast they could get the job done. But the young man’s attitude was that it was better to do a job right instead of hurried with mistakes that might have to be corrected later. By this time, the young man had introduced himself as Henry.

The TV was on in my living room. The newscasters spoke of the current impeachment  proceedings of President Trump. Henry said he was afraid of Trump. He feared Trump would cause violence if he were put out of office, or even if he loses the next election. “I walked into my boss’ office yesterday and he was reading Breitbart News,” Henry said. “He wants to fire my co-worker but he's afraid he’ll get sued if he does. Most everybody I work with supports Trump. They just want someone to blame for their problems. They don’t want to know the truth. They just want to feed their anger.”

Henry said he feared people like his boss would start killing people, liberals in general, if Trump were put out of office. Even if he's not impeached, Henry doesn't believe Trump will concede if he loses the next election. “It’s really scary,” Henry said. “I’m afraid to tell my boss and most everybody I work with that I’m against Trump. I’ve got a wife and a child. I don’t want to fight. But I really think it’s going to come to that.”

He spoke of patriotism and what it meant. “My boss thinks he’s patriotic because he supports Trump,” Henry said. “But that’s not patriotism. Our forefathers didn’t start this country so that we’d blindly follow a king. And that’s what Trump wants to be. He wants to be a King so no one can question his authority. But America was founded on the idea that all men were created equal. A president is supposed to support that idea. But Trump doesn't. I’m really scared we’re going to have a civil war. I don’t want my child to grow up in a war-torn country.”

And that’s when the sadness of our conversation really hit me. I’m sixty-three. I grew up during the tumultuous sixties and seventies, with all the Vietnam War and Civil Rights protests, but I never really feared, or heard other people speak about being afraid that our president would start a civil war to retain power.

Even if someone thought Henry foolish, even if Trump supporters think Henry’s fears are unfounded, they can’t argue that Henry’s fears are not real, because they are; I heard the quiver in his voice. I listened to him talk about how he was afraid to speak his mind and I thought to myself, this is how democracy dies. The loud voices of the boisterous ride roughshod over anyone and everyone who opposes them; they claim they are the spokespersons of patriotism and bark loud if someone dares to disagree.

I felt a kinship with Henry and wondered if I’d see him again. Would this nice young man fight for me if violence comes? Yes, I think he will. But I hope he doesn't have to. But most of all I hope that we, as a nation, get back to normality; get back to a time when we can have civil discourse without fear of reprisal; get back to a time where young men don't worry about raising their children in a war-torn country. If we don't, democracy is doomed.