The recent Jan. 6 hearings have proven beyond a doubt that the Republican Party will stop at nothing to show its unfaltering devotion to Donald Trump, even if this means abandoning traditional conservative values of moderation and respect for the rule of law. This devotion has allowed Republicans to justify carrying out acts of insurrection, election denial, and lawlessness seemingly without second thought.
Being a Republican is no longer just based on the idea of holding certain policy beliefs or values. To call oneself a Republican is not just to be a political “conservative,” but requires one to worship certain political figures and orthodoxies at the same time. It is easy to look at this current crisis within the Republican Party and point to Trump and the ideas that he stands for as the obvious culprits, but this would be a major oversimplification. The insurrectionist tendencies of the Republican Party are the product of a much deeper American problem — one that has corrupted both Republican politicians and Democratic ones alike, and tainted the politics of many Americans.
Those in power have realized that if given the choice, Americans will stop thinking for themselves if their thinking can be “done for them.” In an age of social media — which has produced echo chambers and allowed propaganda to spread at an unprecedented rate — the only political decision Americans are required to make is what party they support, because their values and policy beliefs are prescribed to them once they have gotten on board with a certain party.
If you asked someone how they decided who to vote for a century ago, they likely would have told you that they voted for the candidates most in alignment with their beliefs or values. If you asked this same question in today’s political climate, people might admit that they simply vote for the candidate from their party. Americans used to adopt the political party that held their values, but it seems like the opposite is now the case: Americans adopt the values that their political parties hold.
This notion has become normalized in our society, but it should still concern us. We should not be surprised by the cults of personality that surround so many leaders — the blind devotion to Trump being a notable example — when Americans’ entire identities are wrapped up in the political ideology or party they stand behind. It used to be that many elements of our identities were separate from politics, but not anymore. Nearly everything about a person, down to what they wear and what car they drive, is influenced at least somewhat by their political leaning and who they vote for come election day. So when an angry mob threatens democracy in the name of one man’s political future, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
George Washington recognized the threat of political parties and ideological thinking more than two centuries ago, and he did so as he was preparing for the peaceful transfer of power, no less. In his farewell address to the nation, published in September of 1796, Washington wrote that political parties “are likely in the course of time … to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
If he had been around to witness the events of the past few years, I imagine President Washington would have been shocked to see how closely our current predicament resembles his prediction.
Washington clearly saw the threat of ideology, but his wisdom seems to have eluded an America confused as to why thousands attempted to subvert the certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, or why this country is more politically divided than ever. The reason for this division is complex, but one thing is for sure: it is much greater than any one person or event, and it fills much of our society.
Tools of mass manipulation, social media being one of them, are making it harder for individuals to think for themselves, so they flock to those who claim to have all the answers. We have seen this in the case of Trump, and we will likely see it again. It is within our power, though, to loosen the grip that ideology has on our society by educating ourselves civically and bringing a balanced approach to politics. It is crucial that we do this.
Until we are able to think beyond the scope of political party and make political decisions based on our own values — not on ideology — we have no right to be surprised by the stories of corruption and wrongdoing that the Jan. 6 Committee continues to uncover. If anything, we should be expecting them.
Olin Rose-Bardawil is a sophomore at the Williston Northampton School. He lives in Florence.