I recently asked a friend on Facebook who voted for Donald Trump, “I’m curious about how we can hold someone accountable who seeks to remove the guardrails on the office of the president.” When I was asked to name specific guardrails, I realized that the issue is broader than just the presidency. Here are my reflections on this topic.
Three categories of guardrails:
(1) Legal Guardrails
-Accountability for attempts to overturn an election: Not holding a president accountable for attempting to overturn an election is a dangerous precedent. When Trump pressured Georgia’s secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes” to claim victory, he violated federal and state election laws. If he’s not held accountable, it sets a precedent for future leaders to do the same. Imagine a Democrat trying this in 2028.
(2) Pseudo-Legal / Cultural-Norm Guardrails
-Injecting fear into the system with military threats: When Trump hints at using military force against “radical left lunatics,” it hits a nerve in the system. Yes, he could argue that his statement was merely hypothetical or in response to “election disruptors,” so there’s some plausible deniability there. But the problem is his lack of precision smears these types of statements into broader rhetoric aimed at ‘sticking it to the libs.’ Back in my Republican days, I remember how satisfying it was to watch my politically correct friends squirm at some of the things I would say. But even if he’s just ‘joking,’ there’s a line here that should be concerning for everyone.
-Punishing the press: I am less confident about this point because I think the mainstream media needs a bit of a wake-up call. But when a president sues or otherwise goes after the press, it’s not just holding journalists accountable—it assaults a principle of free speech, which is one of the essential checks on power. Perhaps a shakeup could give room for alternative media outlets to rise up. Some of the alternatives I follow are: thefp.com, TYT, the Bulwark, and RealClearPolitics.
(3) Non-legal Cultural-Norm Guardrails
-Undermining faith in the electoral system: Not being a good sport might seem insignificant, but it’s one of our most important guardrails. It makes me think of my son’s soccer team and their ritual of high-fiving at the end of a game—a way to affirm a shared respect for each other and the rules. Watching Trump prep his base for “rigged election” claims, only to pivot to silence when things went his way, feels like a setup to destabilize the whole system. I’d be curious how my Trump-supporting friends would rate their trust in the election system the day before and the day after the results came in on Nov. 5.
To be clear, I don’t identify as a Democrat or Republican—both have parts of the truth. One of the potential silver linings I see in all of this upheaval is that it may force the next generation to pay attention to the freedoms we take for granted. Similar to the way homeopathic remedies work by introducing a small dose of disruption to strengthen resilience, Trump’s infusion of chaos into the system might slingshot us into a more robust healing response that preserves our democracy. He might also drift into becoming a dictator.
DISCLAIMER: Feel free to reflect and discuss in the comments, but please follow the ground rules:
-No name-calling
-Treat people with respect
-(Optional) Star-man your opponent. I am still learning how to do this and don’t expect it from anyone, but you will get major bonus points if you read this article and try to employ some of its suggestions: https://centerforinquiry.org/blog/how-to-star-man-arguing-from-compassion/