A refresher on constitutional democracy

Reprise: and yet they come

One thing about the migratory caravans we know for sure—Trump is politicizing and enfolding them into his hysterical extremist rhetoric through which he continues to incite in the populous fear and hatred. 

I believe Trump is using the migrant caravans to yet again attempt consolidation of power. He has always included illegal immigration in his vitriolic speeches espousing what he himself now has called his nationalist ideology. By sewing division and hatred and creating chaos through incessant lying Trump increasingly destabilizes democracy and consolidates personal and party power. The more fear and hatred of others he can generate among Americans, the more he undermines the people's unity and therefore the people's power, and the less able we will be as a country to function democratically.

A refresher on constitutional democracy

Constitutional democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people. It is not government controlled by an autocrat and a conservative political party, without respect for and in some cases openly violating constitutional principles that are the foundation for democratic governance.

Here, from civiced.org is a brief outline of essential characteristics and principles of constitutional democracy:

• ·       the people are the source of authority of government which derives its right to govern from their consent;
• ·       a majority rules but the fundamental rights of individuals in the minority are protected;
• ·       powers of government are limited by law and all obey constitutional law;
• ·       legislative, executive, and judicial functions both share and create balance of power;
• ·       branches of government check the powers of other branches;
• ·       individuals have rights to life, liberty, and property as protected by law;
• ·       elections insure transfer of leaders and government authority.

We are a country guided by certain fundamental values expressed in our Constitution. We believe basic and fundamental rights of all individuals are expressed and protected by law and by government. We believe in freedom of conscience and of expression. We believe in a civil society where people have privacy in their associations and activities and where they live free from coercion and unfair intrusions by government. We believe in justice—distributive, corrective, procedural justice. We believe in equality—politically, before the law, equal opportunity, and the free marketplace of ideas and endeavors.

So, I ask you the following questions in response to this outline of what constitutional democracy entails: 

1. Is our democracy now safe, stable, and functional? 
2. Are our constitutional principles now respected and reflected in the actions of government leaders?
3. Are the values of our democracy now intact among government leaders as well as the populous? 

A climate of chaos

Back to the topic that engendered today's outpouring of concern from me—the belief that Trump is politicizing the migrant caravans to consolidate his power to govern autocratically. From the time he was elected he embarked on his campaign to incite people’s fear of and anger toward different races and ethnic groups, especially fear of and anger toward immigrants. He has stereotyped Mexicans as criminals and Middle Easterners as terrorists—and anyone with the least capacity to reason should understand that stereotyping is flawed, irrational thinking, often used as a fear-mongering tactic. 

We have all learned life's lesson that some people are good, and some people are bad, and most people are a mix of good and bad, and all humans are flawed. Haven't we? So, then, we know that when people stereotype others they are wrong, either out of ignorance or because they have a motive. Trump has a motive. He might truly hate people different from him, but the public vilification of others also cements the cohesiveness within his own group. He promotes fear and hatred of others in the group-think of his tribe to corroborate his and their superiority and consolidate his personal and party power.

To the best of my knowledge Trump never publicly acknowledged that between 2007 and 2017 the number of people making illegal crossings at our southern border actually steadily declined from around 850,000 to under 300,000. Or that the composition of people making illegal crossings shifted from Mexicans to people coming from the Northern Triangle. Or that during that same period more families and children were attempting immigration. This would be far too analytical and fair and could never achieve the same goals as his emotional irrational rhetoric.

It is probably safe to say the current migrant caravan crisis has been a long time in the making. Some experts even trace back to U.S. involvement in Central America during the Reagan era. In any case thousands of people did not just suddenly amass into migratory caravans. 

If the Trump administration foresaw this emergency, and they should have, for that is among their responsibilities, they apparently did nothing to help prevent it. I think conversely that Trump's racist remarks, threats to build a wall, and actions against immigrants have somehow tragically helped to provoke crisis. This did not happen under previous administrations, not in this way, and not on this scale. And not when we were participating in the  global economy and helping nurture an overall atmosphere of international cooperation. Instead, now we have Trump, spewing isolationist nationalist rhetoric, initiating trade wars, pulling out of international agreements, revoking aid from countries we have traditionally supported, and generally intensifying a climate of lies and chaos with every passing day.
Emily Kretschmer
October 24, 2018

This blog post and the one that follows, "And yet, they come" were in both a general and specific sense informed by "The migrant caravan, explained," by Dara Lind. VOX. October 24, 2018 and the educational resource The Center for Civic Education, 2018