MICROBYTE: How Will We Know When We Have Lost Our Democracy?

“Authoritarianism is harder to recognize than it used to be,” say Professors Levitsky, Way, and Ziblatt in their New York Times essay on the subject.

In the old days, despots like Castro and Pinochet used brutal terror to silence their opposition. Today’s baddies are far smoother and more insidious. To begin with, they don’t seize power via an armed pitch, they’re elected. And, once in control, rather than using violence, they convert public institutions into political weapons. 

“That is how autocrats rule in contemporary Hungary, Serbia, India, and Turkey, and how Hugo Chavez ruled in Venezuela. They attack their rivals through nominally legal means like defamation suits, tax audits, and politically targeted investigations.” Which makes the descent into authoritarian rule hard to recognize until the barbarians are well passed the gate and firmly in control.

So, how can we recognize the early signs before it’s too late? 

To begin with, opposition comes with a price. “Political opponents may be investigated, media outlets may be hit with frivolous defamation suits or adverse regulator rulings, businesses may face tax audits or denied contracts, universities may lose their tax-exempt status, activists and journalists may be harassed.”

Is there any good news here? Yes. The professors assure us that a slide into autocracy is totally reversible and stoppable––but only if We The People get off the sidelines, become aware, speak up, and stand up––democrats and republicans, together. 

The bottom line: what becomes of America will always be up to us. 

Now you know.

MICROBYTE: Emoluments Clause (HOW TO RESPOND TO A $400 MILLION GIFT)

While our founders couldn’t possibly have anticipated where we’d be or what nefarious shenanigans we’d be up to in 2025, they were keen students of human nature and saw clearly that we’d be as vulnerable to temptation, corruption, and bribery as they were. 

And so they wrote into Article I, Section 9, a little gift-stopper called the Emolument Clause. No subtlety here. 

"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

Period.

George Washington accepted two gifts from French officials while president, including a framed print of King Louis XVI. Washington displayed it in his official residence (a public building) rather than keeping it as personal property, reflecting the early understanding that such gifts were not for personal enrichment

Abraham Lincoln must surely have preferred to hang on to a pair of elephant tusks given to him by the King of Siam, but in the end, he handed them over to the government’s Collection of Curiosities.

Franklin D. Roosevelt received a painting by Winston Churchill as a gift. While not explicitly stated in the search results, such gifts are typically accepted on behalf of the nation and not as personal property

Richard Nixon was gifted two giant pandas by China in 1972. The pandas were sent to the National Zoo, not retained by Nixon personally

Bill Clinton and Hillary were given a handmade rug featuring their likenesses by Azerbaijan’s president. Gifts of this nature are generally turned over to the National Archives or similar government entities, not kept personally.

Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which included a $1.4 million cash award. The Justice Department concluded that the Norwegian Nobel Committee was not a foreign state, but Obama donated the prize money to charity to avoid any appearance of impropriety

Donald J. Trump. Whatever will he choose to do with the Royal Family of Qatar’s gift of a $400 million Flying Palace? Well, that’s the question of the moment!

What’s your guess?

“I am not a member of any organized political party, I’m a Democrat.”

Will Rogers, 1928! So it’s genetic.

Common Sense. No, I did not read this when it was originally published (1776), but I’ve read it several times since. And, I have to tell you, Common Sense is as clear and an explanation of what our founders were thinking when they invented America as you will ever read. Its arguments for liberty, equality, and representative government continue to resonate centuries after its publication, and no, it is not written in Old English script. It’s 48 pages long, and it’s available on Amazon!

(Thomas Paine, Working class English immigrant, author, and patriot.)As an Amazon Associate, we earn commission from qualifying purchases.