Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter has kept a low profile with the public since leaving the High Court in 2009, but as a long-time reader could remindhe delivered memorable remarks in New Hampshire in 2012 about his broader political fears.

“I think some of the aspects of current American government that people on both sides find frustrating are partly due to people’s inability to understand how government can and should work,” Souter said. “It is the product of civic ignorance.”

After quoting Benjamin Franklin’s warning that democracy struggles to survive “too much ignorance”, the retired judge added“I am not worried about the loss of Republican government in the United States because I am afraid of a foreign invasion. I’m not worried about it because I think there will be a military coup, as happened in some areas. What worries me is that if the problems are not resolved, people will not know who is responsible. And when the problems get bad enough…someone comes forward and says, “Give me total power and I’ll solve this problem.” » This is how the Roman republic fell.

Souter concluded“If we know who is responsible, I have enough confidence in the American people to demand results from those responsible. If we don’t know, we’ll stay away from the polls. We will not demand it. And the day will come when someone comes forward, and we and the government will actually say, “Take the ball and run with it.” Do what you have to do. This is how democracy dies. And if nothing is done to improve the level of civic knowledge, that’s what we have to worry about at night.”

The retired judge’s off-the-cuff comments came to mind when I saw the New York Times publish a post-election analysis with a headline that read: “America Hires a Strong Man.” The analysis included a two-sentence paragraph that summarized very succinctly:

The question is not whether Donald Trump was running an authoritarian agenda. The Republican candidate for the highest office in the country threatened suspected enemies with prison sentencesexplicitly endorsed a “strongman” leadership styleboasted of his support of dictatorsraised the prospect of a temporary American »dictatorship» and I talked about it “terminating” parts of the Constitution which stand in the way of its ambitions.

In case that wasn’t enough, he also argued that his rivals should not be “allowed” to run against himtargeting immigrants with Hitler-style rhetoric while promising to create militarized mass deportations and detention campswe talk about it sometimes deport people who entered the United States legallypromised thanks to politically aligned criminals, raises the specter of military tribunals for his perceived domestic political enemies, vowed repression of the free press and even talked about expanding the use of the US military on US soil.

Rather, the question is why the electorate heard this message and still elevated him to power.

In the months and years to come, it is likely that many voters will rejoice as Trump attacks the rule of law and other democratic institutions. Others will see Trump implementing elements of his authoritarian vision and effectively saying, “Well, I didn’t vote for that. I was just annoyed that I had to pay more for my groceries after the pandemic.

But by then, it will be too late.