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Opinion

American democracy strained under Trump’s hand, but it did not break

Our system proved to be robust, durable and resilient.

This is not another column decrying the attack on the Capitol, which was fueled by a demagogic president who refused to accept his defeat at the polls. It’s not a column demanding the resignation of President Donald Trump, his impeachment by Congress, or his removal via the 25th Amendment. And it’s definitely not a column about the decline of America, which has lost its status as the pre-eminent symbol of democracy in the world. You’ve heard all of that already from commentators and politicians.

Instead, it’s about how fortunate we are to live in America in the first place. It’s about how we weathered this terrible storm, because our political institutions are strong enough to survive a leader who would demolish them.

It’s about the bright side.

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You might have missed that, as you doom-scrolled through your news feed last week. But for the past four years, I’ve been telling friends, family and students — anyone who will listen, really — that we should all thank our lucky stars. If Trump had come to power in any number of other countries, I kept saying, it would be game over. But not here.

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I think the past few weeks proved me right. In living color, we watched Trump and his legions try to destroy our democracy. And they failed. The system strained under Trump’s hand, but it did not break.

He appealed to the courts to overturn his defeat in November. He pressured state officials to lie about it. He demanded that his own vice president invalidate state electoral votes. And finally, he inspired his deluded army of devotees to invade the seat of American democracy itself.

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None of it worked. Our system is not perfect, but it is resilient. And it proved far more robust and durable than the people who threw a dagger at its heart.

Let me be clear: Although I look on the bright side, I can also see the darkness. Like millions of other viewers, I was appalled and terrified as I watched the rioters engulf our Capitol. Their ranks included QAnon conspiracists and white supremacists, who waved Confederate flags for the cameras. They will continue to infect our body politic with their cynical bile, as bigots have done across our past.

So will their more silver-tongued GOP enablers in Congress, who pretended to be shocked — shocked! — when Trump’s followers actually listened to his lies about the election. Some of these politicians echoed the same falsehoods, continuing to suggest that the vote was somehow rigged. (I’m looking at you, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.)

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But the bulk of Republicans in Congress turned away from the abyss, confirming President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and repudiating Trump. Before Wednesday, the GOP was still Trump’s party. Now, it’s up for grabs.

Will someone else try to take over Trump’s followers and direct them to attack our democracy again? It’s certainly possible, but it will be harder now that millions of Americans have watched those pathetic souls on TV. Deeming themselves defenders of the nation, they looked more like middle school kids breaking into the principal’s office. Look at me, with my feet up on Nancy Pelosi’s desk! I’m in charge now!

I’m not trying to minimize what they did. Five people lost their lives, including a police officer. We must never forget them.

But we also need to pause for a moment, count our blessings, and celebrate (yes, celebrate) our achievement. We did not simply turn Donald Trump out of office. We protected the office — and the rest of our democracy — from a charlatan who was poised to shatter it.

We have enormous work to do, of course, in repairing all the damage he has done. We can’t put our feet up, like the guy in Pelosi’s office, and imagine that everything is OK. It isn’t.

But nor should we understate what we just accomplished, in the face of one of the greatest challenges in our history. Benjamin Franklin famously predicted that America would be a republic rather than a monarchy, “if you can keep it.”

Last Wednesday, we kept it. Take a deep breath, America. And keep on keeping on, tempered always by the memory of how close we came to losing everything.

Jonathan Zimmerman is a professor of education and history at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the co-author (with Signe Wilkinson) of “Free Speech, And Why You Should Give a Damn,” which will be published in the spring by City of Light Press. He wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News.