In a recent article describing the country’s progressive inclination toward oligarchy, I did read a reference to someone touting monarchy for the United States. Thanks for sharing this NYT article with me, Linda, it makes clear who that “American monarchist” is and what he is about. 

The article Linda shared with me got me to thinking about some troubling current events, and I jotted down my thoughts as follows.

For my own part, the greatest threat to our nation is illustrated by the pardoning of the entire roster of January 6 insurrectionists. Many duly convicted of violent sedition and insurrection. This smug bunch and their affiliated anti-government militias, and similar groups and individuals whether organized or simply like-minded, have now become an unofficial, private army for Trump to call on whenever he feels the need. Remember his directions to the Proud Boys, “stand down and stand by.” He has empowered them to act beyond the reach of legal consequences by showing his readiness to pardon them–so, then: “Stand by,” America, for any future actions he will decide to use them for. Exaggeration? I think not. He referred to them as “patriots,” “political prisoners,” and “hostages.” But they are criminals, unquestionably, observed in their violent actions and words on TV screens all over the world, and subsequently convicted according to law. Yet, the President is even now indicating he will invite some of them to the White House!

In the 1930s, while he was tightening his hold on political power in Germany, Adolf Hitler had his Sturmabteilung (SA), popularly known as the Brown Shirts, thugs wearing swastikas, who went around harassing and beating those who opposed him and his Nazi party. We have just experienced the first step in that direction.² Count on the Trump Administration to push forward with its agenda heedless of constitutional and institutional norms. The Constitution and the rule of law apparently need not apply to Trump and his coterie of sycophants.

That Trump has a taste for the use of naked force to achieve his ends comes as no surprise. He is deploying thousands of active-duty military to the southern border and launching mass deportations of illegal immigrants. No serious person disputes that both ineffective control of the border and the broken immigration system have been for decades thorny, unresolved problems that both political parties failed to address. But at least a preliminary attempt was offered in the bipartisan immigration bill that Trump scuttled lest it interfere with his 2024 election campaign. Conservative Republicans as well as Democrats had worked on the bill together and believed its passage would have been a step forward and provided something to continue to build on. Trump, on the contrary, prefers to use brute force to make that happen. While only a couple of days in office, already he is aiming his ire and vindictiveness at the institutions of government and the employees of agencies that have aroused his resentment for a host of personal grievances including such offenses as: DEI, wokeness, LGBTQ, and of course the sin of disloyalty of the various offenders on his enemies list. The way of the dictator does not bode well for the nation once known as the “land of the free and the home of the brave” where today the emboldened Executive Branch of the US Government goes forward increasingly unchecked by the cowed Legislative Branch and empowered by the acquiescent Judicial Branch. This nation appears ready to raise its outstretched arm in salute and shout, “Sieg Heil!”

Now, every time I think about the consequences of what these actions are leading us to, Benjamin Franklin’s warning reverberates in my mind. When asked following the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 what kind of government the delegates had established, he replied tersely: A republic, if you can keep it. I try to be optimistic, but I’m not sure we can.

[Note: the title of this post is from the German patriotic anthem, Die Wacht Am Rhein. The translation of the verse is, “Beloved Fatherland, May you be at peace.” I wanted to share the laudable sentiment, but at the same time let the German words resonate with a warning about the trend toward extremist nationalism that I have tried to describe in this post.]

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1. The NYT article identifies a “prolific Internet commenter” named, Curtis Yarvin. The author of the piece summarizes his political philosophy: “The path to national renewal, Yarvin argues, is to unravel American democracy in favor of rule by a benevolent C.E.O.-monarch drawn from a cadre of venture capitalists and corporate oligarchs.” ↩︎
2. See the guest essay in the New York Times, January 5, 2025, } “For Many of Us, Jan. 6 Never Ended,” By Aquilino Gonell. Mr. Gonell is a former sergeant in the Capitol Police and the author, with Susan Shapiro, of “American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy.” ↩︎

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AMERICAN HEROES WHO DEFENDED THE U. S. CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6, 2021

These officers and their families remain under threat by right wing extremists because of their testimonies before the January 6 Committee and current legal actions involving the insurrectionists of that day. Several have appeared on television and in the newspapers to bear witness to the “criminal behavior” of those who attacked and brutalized them and their colleagues defending the U. S. Capitol. Obviously, I can’t mention here all of the names of the dozens of Capitol Police and D. C. Metropolitan Police who suffered similar violent experiences at the hands of the mob.

Harry Dunn, Capitol Police (Retired, wounded on Jan. 6)

Michael Fanone, DC Metropolitan Police (Retired, wounded on Jan. 6)

Aquilino Gonell, Capitol Police (Retired, wounded on Jan. 6)

Brian Sicknick, Capitol Police (RIP, died of wounds received on Jan. 6)

Daniel Hodges, DC Metropolitan Police (Wounded on Jan. 6)

Steven Sund, Capitol Police chief, (Scapegoated, resigned under pressure)