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    Vote to preserve democracy and the rule of law

    Online Niel Posted on

    Nancy E. Snow
    | Guest columnist

    Much depends on the outcome of this presidential election. The presidential race and many others were uncivil. A stark contrast was provided by the vice presidential debate, where JD Vance and Tim Walz presented very different visions of America, but in a civil way. One interpretation of Vance’s behavior is that he sought to “straighten up” Trump’s rambling and hateful rhetoric to appeal to centrist voters.

    Civility is all well and good, but let’s be clear. Part of this contest will preserve democracy; the other will weaken it. As the ACLU states: “In 2022, the Heritage Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank, and 140 former Trump staffers put together Project 2025 — a road map for replacing the rule of law with right-wing ideals” and “The largest publication of Project 2025“Mandate For Leadership,” is a 900-page playbook for reorganizing the entire federal government agency by agency to serve a conservative agenda.” A vote for Donald Trump is a vote against democracy.

    More: Opinion: Democrats, Republicans worked across the aisle. We must return to the norms of democracy.

    As someone who has been active in local politics around homelessness, I can attest to the fine print of “creeping authoritarianism” – at the municipal level of government. By this I mean a lack of transparency and accountability of government officials, a tendency to hide documents, a lack of engagement with all citizens on issues of concern, and a propensity to side with wealthy business interests at the expense of ordinary people. citizens.

    Broadly speaking, the US Supreme Court struck down abortion rights, affirmative action and the basic ability to live for the homeless. These decisions and others were made along ideological lines and advanced a so-called conservative agenda. I say “so-called conservative” because, in my opinion, the ideologies being proposed today have little, if anything, to do with intelligent conservatism and more to do with the pursuit of power. For some, this search is deadly.

    More: Ordinary citizens are forced to navigate political rhetoric and violence Nancy Snow

    Nex Benedict is a person who should not have died. The anti-trans rhetoric promoted by public schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has created an intolerable culture of bullying for them. At least two women in Georgia have died because of the state’s abortion ban, which denied them access to critical medical care. That ProPublica rEPORTS“…Amber Nicole Thurman suffered from a serious infection that her suburban Atlanta hospital was well equipped to treat.” Thurman had taken abortion pills, but had not expelled all the fetal tissue from her body. He needed a dilation and curettage, commonly known as a D and C. Georgia had made it a felony to perform that procedure. Doctors waited 20 hours to operate, but it was too late for the otherwise healthy 28-year-old nurse.

    Smart conservatives don’t promote laws and policies that end in death. A sensitive approach to Thurman’s predicament might have saved her. A sympathetic approach to Nex Benedict would not have led to their suicide. The restrictive laws and policies we see today are not about conservative values. They are about power and control. Project 2025 proves that the authors of this so-called “conservative” document do not promote conservative values. They want power. This type of scenario is not unknown. It happened in countries on the brink of authoritarianism. Our country now stands on this precipice. Vote wisely. Let’s keep our democracy.

    Nancy E. Snow is a professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas. Previously, he was a professor of philosophy at the University of Oklahoma and director of the Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing.

    Online Niel
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