The Price of Silence: Facing the Erosion of Our Democracy

By: Gary McIntire, Co-Leader, Lassen Indivisible

As a co-leader of our local Indivisible group and a citizen committed to the survival of our republic, I am writing to share a growing alarm. We live in a time where the “unthinkable” has become the “routine.” By examining the rise of past authoritarian regimes—specifically the warnings laid out by Justice Robert H. Jackson during the Nuremberg Trials—we can see that the threat we face today is not a single event, but a deliberate, compounding process of erosion.

I am not suggesting that our current situation is an exact replica of 1930s Germany. However, history provides a roadmap for how democracies die, and we are currently traveling down a path marked by the same warning signs Justice Jackson identified nearly 80 years ago in his opening remarks at the Nuremberg Trials.

The Strategy of Desensitization and the Erosion of Norms

One of the most dangerous aspects of the current administration is its mastery of incrementalism. By shattering a democratic norm every week, the public becomes exhausted and eventually desensitized. What was scandalous a year ago is now ignored today. This is a “calculated malignancy,” to use Jackson’s phrase, designed to make us believe that truth is irrelevant and that power is the only currency.

• The War on Fact: When mendacity—deliberate, persistent lying—is used as a tool of statecraft, it does more than just deceive; it destroys the very possibility of a democratic process. If we cannot agree on basic facts, we cannot hold a fair election, have a meaningful debate, or ensure a peaceful transfer of power.
• The Dismantling of the Guardrails: We are witnessing an unprecedented effort to hollow out the “administrative state”—the non-partisan professionals in our civil service, intelligence, and justice departments. By replacing expertise with personal fealty, the administration seeks to transform the government from a protector of the people into a weapon of the executive.
• The Threat to the Democratic Process: From the rhetoric surrounding election integrity to the attempts to intimidate those who oversee our voting systems, the very mechanics of our democracy are under siege. A movement that seeks to win by delegitimizing the process itself is not a political movement; it is a threat to our collective security.

Lessons from the Past, Responsibility for the Future

Justice Jackson warned that the “sinister influences” of authoritarianism would lurk long after the war ended. He knew that the desire for absolute power, the use of scapegoats to distract the public, and the “bad faith” of leaders are recurring human failures.

We are presently charged with preserving a world that was built at a high cost following World War II. If we allow this movement to continue to metastasize, we are failing in our duty to those who will inherit this country. We cannot bequeath a broken democracy to our children and grandchildren simply because we were too tired or too timid to defend it.

What We Must Do Now

We must act upon the lessons history has so painfully provided. As individuals and as a community, we must:

1. Refuse the “New Normal”: Do not let the daily barrage of falsehoods or the erosion of institutional norms go unremarked. Document them, discuss them, and name them for what they are: attacks on our liberty.
2. Protect the Ballot and the Process: We must be more active than ever in local election oversight, supporting non-partisan voting access, and defending the civil servants who keep our democracy running.
3. Engage in “Radical” Truth-Telling: In our conservative area, the most powerful thing we can do is remain tethered to objective reality. Share credible information, support independent media, and engage our neighbors in conversations about the process of democracy rather than just the personalities of politics.
4. Strengthen Our Resolve: Authoritarianism relies on the “demoralized society.” We must sustain each other. Our Indivisible group is not just a political organization; it is a community of resistance against the desensitization of the American public.

History is watching us. Justice Jackson reminds us that “we must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants today is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow.” Let us ensure that our record shows we recognized the danger and chose to stand for the rule of law.

The most reliable link for the full transcript (which is quite long but incredibly powerful) is from The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. This is the definitive digital record used by historians and legal scholars. The second link is direct to a PDF copy of the statement.

Direct Links to the Statement:

• Robert H. Jackson’s Opening Statement – The Avalon Project
• https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/JACKSON_SPEECH-TEXT.pdf

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Additional Helpful Resources

• The Robert H. Jackson Center: This page includes the text alongside a video of Jackson delivering the speech, which can be very moving for a general audience.

The National WWII Museum’s Summary: This is a great “entry-level” link that explains why the speech was so revolutionary in the history of international law.