Guest Opinion| Joshua Levine Grater: Authoritarianism is Getting Too Close

Disclaimer: I am writing this neither in my position at a local agency, or with my title as a clergy person. I am speaking for myself as a United States citizen, as a husband, and as a father; I am compelled to write so that in the future, no matter how this scary and dangerous time ends, my family will know that at least I spoke out.

I fear that the footsteps of authoritarianism are growing louder each day. What we are witnessing on the streets of our cities, and in our nation’s capital, can be described only as an increased desire for dictatorship over democracy. And anyone who tries to gaslight me or tell me this is somehow normal; or that it’s not as bad as we think; or that this is an appropriate response to the protests against the immigration deportations that are ramping up, I will not be convinced.

And as strange as it might seem, I actually won’t put all of the blame on President Trump at this moment. He told the country what he wanted to do, joking that he would be a dictator on day one, but it was no joke. He said he wanted to round up and have mass deportations of immigrants, and he’s doing it. He said he wanted to slash the federal government and the agencies that were created to protect us, do vital research, help the world stay safe from pollution and diseases, and provide a social safety net for our most vulnerable citizens. And he’s doing that with utter disregard for the consequences. He is seeking to erase the complicated history of our nation. He is seeking to punish and eliminate the great strides we have made in equality and diversity and safety and acceptance for all Americans. And the speed in how he is doing this seems to be too fast to stop. He said he wanted to weaponize the justice system for retribution, and he is doing that every day.

But there is one group that has the power to stop him and they’re abrogating their responsibility, and it is these folks that I blame. And I wish it didn’t have to be partisan, but it is the Republicans in Congress that are granting blanket authority to this president, choosing to lie down, instead of standing up for the constitution and the rule of law.

Allowing this president to eliminate agencies that are under congressional jurisdiction; allowing this president to cut spending that was approved by Congress; allowing this president to ignore judicial rulings; and refusing to exercise its role as an equal branch of government is a complete dereliction of duty. And now we are seeing federal agents, with masks covering their faces, sweeping into neighborhoods and rounding up people in unmarked vehicles. We are witnessing the deployment of the military and the National Guard onto our streets without the request or approval of our state and local officials. We are being subjected to an unnecessary and wasteful display of military might rolling through our capital, the likes of which are typically seen in authoritarian regimes around the world. And all the while, congressional Republicans say nothing.

I don’t know whether all of them agree with what’s happening, I am sure some of them do. However, if there are those who don’t agree, as I truly hope there are, the fact that they are risking our democracy for the sake of their own power, is a disgrace. And to be clear, if there were any Democratic congressional members that were supporting the actions of this administration, I would be calling them out too.

I believe in the ways of nonviolent civil disobedience, and I can only try to imagine what Dr. King would be doing, and saying in this critical moment in our history. This president and those that he has placed in positions of authority in his administration, are seeking to rob us of the very democracy that they swore to uphold. The constitution is clear about the equal branches of government, and I beg those in the Congress, who are allowing this administration to carry out these acts of growing tyranny, to stand up and do their job. Oversight, control of the budget, providing checks and balances to the executive. We have witnessed what happened to a congresswoman in New Jersey and a senator in California. This is no joke.

I hope more and more of us, and members of Congress, will continue turning around to face the footsteps of authoritarianism head on, rather than allowing them to totally overtake us.

Joshua Levine Grater has been a member of the Pasadena community for over 20 years.