It’s a short checklist for helping contain the spread of autocracies

It’s a time-honored axiom that winners write the history books.

Look no further than to what the world’s No. 1 pariah is attempting to do in Russia by schooling its youth on the merits of communist ideology, and the pivotal role that the country’s current president has played in the “rebirth” of a “great nation” that had been severely weakened when the Soviet Union splintered in 1991.

The Putin plan to indoctrinate a new generation of Russian youth into a totalitarian world as he shapes it was spelled out in graphic detail by The New York Times on July 17 in a report that laid bare a “wholesale reprogramming of Russian society.”

The current effort to change the way young Russians think about their country and the world at large is rooted in history and dates to the time when Joseph Stalin ruled the former Soviet Union with an iron fist.

It also is reminiscent of what another World War II tyrant attempted to accomplish in Germany by infecting the “Hitler Youth” with the disease of Nazi propaganda as a means of justifying state-sanctioned atrocities.

A similar pattern played out in post-war China, which established a communist dictatorship in 1949 by imposing military rule and brutally quashing any political dissent, forcing nearly 3 million Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek to retreat to a safe haven on the island of Taiwan.

The three most glaring examples of nations that fell prey to the siren song of power-hungry autocrats, not surprisingly, have served as inspiration for a long line of totalitarian regimes, including current models throughout the Middle East, Far East, and South America.

Autocratic inroads also have been made in several European countries that have embraced the hate-filled rhetoric uttered by fringe political groups, generally under the guise of improving the economic fortunes of the lower- and middle-class sectors of the populace.

Perhaps Western society’s greatest threat to democratic rule, of course, occurred over a two-month period in the overlapping years of 2020-21 when another would-be autocrat incited a political insurrection in a desperate attempt to remain in power after losing the presidential election.

The attempt failed, thankfully, but the seeds already are being sown for yet another try at destroying our democracy by his continuing efforts to con, dupe, and mislead his followers.

Those efforts are being enabled by countless politicians at the local, state, and national levels who have been bullied into complacency and complicity, unwilling to take a stand for the principles of honesty and integrity.

Those two fundamental truths are at the heart of Primerus, which was founded 30 years ago to help restore faith in our legal profession. It also was formed to help build trust in the workings of our legal system and to educate the public about the critical role that lawyers play in peacefully resolving disputes and in administering justice for the good of a civilized society.

We recently began work to take those twin missions a step further, announcing plans for a Primerus Foundation that will promote the rule of law at every turn, and will encourage and support candidates of character who believe in the importance of truth and integrity at every stage of the political process.

That process has been compromised by the sharp edge to today’s partisan politics, where the party in power regularly subverts the will of the people by gerrymandering legislative districts to its distinct advantage. The age-old process must stop, just as quickly as concerted efforts to suppress the right to vote if we are to prevent an unfortunate return to the discriminatory practices of the past.

The Founding Fathers placed exclusively in our hands, the voter, the trust and responsibility to make very careful and sound decisions on who should be entrusted to lead our magnificent nation. We, as voters, have the responsibility to think not only of our own interests, but also what is best for the country and for all future generations. Integrity and the fiduciary responsibility required of our leaders should be our only concern. This is our duty as citizens. It is not an option. It is required to preserve our democracy, which is the only way we can protect our freedom, liberty, justice, equality, and the rule of law.

If we are apathetic, if we vote irresponsibly or if we vote only for our own selfish interest, then we have let down ourselves, our families, our children, our grandchildren, future generations, fellow citizens, and our Founding Fathers.

The bottom line is this: Let’s not criticize our politicians, jurists, and all those running our democratic nations if we as voters do not exercise our ultimate authority and duty to decide who those leaders should be. That in a nutshell is the mission of the Primerus Foundation: To persuade all free people, blessed to be living in a democratic nation, of their awesome responsibility of citizenship.

Best regards,
Jack Buchanan, President