The thought of that improbability is no more. Visions of our own leaders cowering under their desks in our own Capitol (the “People’s House”) a little over one year ago alerted us not just to the possibility but the likelihood that we face a genuine threat from inside our own country.

We have viewed, ad nauseam for over a year, the replay of what amounted to a presidential coup or (at the very least) a failed attempt to undermine the electoral process which many members of Congress seemed to embrace even as it put their own lives in grave danger.

The former president sabotaged public confidence in our electoral process by making it clear long before the election was even held that he would not accept the results if he lost (one of the very few promises he kept). His futile attempt to subvert the certification of the Electoral College results incited the deadly attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Trump’s activities surrounding the insurrection present religious leaders and Trump’s Christian following quite a dilemma. They have to decide whether or not to endorse Trump’s coup attempt, stand behind the “Big Lie,” and foster his commitment to anti-democratic practices, which include an armed attempt to overthrow the U.S. government.

 Their alternative — obviously — is to recognize the true results of the election, support the orderly transfer of power in our constitutional democracy and thereby acknowledge “God’s President” was a liar, a scam artist and a major player in the attempt to overturn a free and fair election he lost by over seven million votes. Their decision is still pending.

For the rest of us, the nightmare is not over. We have every reason to be concerned. I defer to Barton Gellman who succinctly declared in The Atlantic: “Technically, the next attempt to overthrow a national election may not qualify as a coup. It will rely on subversion more than violence, although each will have its place.” If laws presently being pursued by Republican legislatures across the U.S. are passed, ballots cast by voters will not decide the presidency in 2024. Votes could be discarded, the winner could be declared the loser and the loser certified president-elect. That will mark the end of American democracy.

In a functioning democracy — which many of us are old enough to recall having lived in — a grandstanding, opportunistic, narcissistic demagogue like Trump would have been long since judged a once-in-a-lifetime kind of miscreation and deemed most certainly unworthy of the exalted office of President of the United States. His ridiculous and corrosive lies distorting and demeaning everything that we once valued in America and cherished by freedom-loving citizens around the globe would be enough to disqualify and bar him from any political consideration.

However, somehow, for reasons yet to be clearly defined, Trump has managed (and in a relatively short period of time) to transform a once highly valued and principled political party into some kind of unethical, discredited, nonsensical cult.

Whether America and American democracy can (in a world as chaotic, unpredictable and demanding as ours) weather and outlast Donald Trump’s unparalleled assault on our way of life remains to be seen.

David L. Snell

Franklin