America, land of the free — but only if we’re careful

At first blush, we might think it's easy to live in a free country. Nobody's telling us what to do, what to think, or how to behave. No one is looking over our shoulders.

However, that's not Donald Trump's America. He and the far right have taught Americans some difficult lessons these last nine years. Now, our free press, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are vulnerable to a would-be dictator.

Despite the noble battles past generations of Americans have fought against fascism, racism, misogyny, hegemony and xenophobia, we now know a single unbalanced leader can make America ugly again. Freedom requires constant vigilance and strength of character, including the ability to drown out the rhetoric of grievance and hate by listening to our better angels.

The millions of members of Trump's MAGA movement have failed these tests. We have reason to worry when nearly half the nation's voters tell pollsters they'll vote for Trump.

The former president and his allies have aroused the movement's worse biases and impulses. Everyone has an inner capability for cruelty, anger, hate, bigotry and rigid tribalism; most people in civilized society keep it bound in the chains of morality, compassion, empathy and conscience. Trumpism is a permission structure to remove the chains.

Other unprincipled leaders have done this throughout history, arousing their people's worst impulses and intimidating others to turn their backs. Think of Hitler's supporters during the pogrom or the tolerance in white society of lynching Blacks in the South.

Trump has encouraged division in America by demonizing the press, Democrats, judges, juries, the courts and his critics. He has appealed to false patriotism by claiming that America is a failing country, a disaster, a garbage can, overrun by criminals, controlled by the "lunatic left" and "villains and tyrants who are looking to destroy our country."

This is another of the challenges in a free society. Speech may be divisive, untrue and disgusting, but speakers have a constitutional right to say it. The same is true of freedom of assembly. Whether it is Trump's hate-filled MAGA rally in Madison Square Garden, neo-Nazis marching by torchlight in the streets of Charlottesville, or the demonstrators Trump would use the military against, Americans are free to rally and march on behalf of the worst, as well as best, causes.

The central rule in a free society is to respect other peoples' freedoms, too. This requires a tolerance of diversity if not an appreciation of it. Americans of different colors, faiths, backgrounds, social classes and family structures have the same freedoms we do to live, dress, worship and believe as they wish. While white nationalists, Christian nationalists and anti-abortion activists would have us all live by their rules, we remain free not to do so.

The beauty of a free society, particularly an opportunity society like ours, is that everyone can experiment, grow, live their best lives and become their best selves. Humans are not stamped out on assembly lines. Freedom allows us to choose our way, make mistakes, achieve victories and enjoy the journey.

The far right is working to take that away, too. It reportedly wants to create a "snitch society" where citizens report neighbors for perceived transgressions against Trump and right-wing dictums. Adam Serwer of The Atlantic cites the Texas "bounty law" that allows private citizens to sue anyone who assists in an abortion later than six weeks into a pregnancy. The "snitch" can be awarded at least $10,000 if the lawsuit is successful.

"Across the nation, Republican-controlled state legislatures and conservative activists have passed bills and embraced legal strategies that encourage Americans to monitor one another's behavior and report their friends, family members, and neighbors to the authorities," Serwer reports. "The mere threat of having one's privacy invaded and one's life potentially destroyed is sufficient to shape people's speech and behavior. American history shows us where this could lead."

For instance, it led between 1947 and 1953 to 4.7 million Americans scrutinized and 40,000 subjected to "full field investigations" by the FBI based on unverified gossip, rumors and slander during the Red Scare period of McCarthyism.

For nearly a decade, Trump has dominated news cycles and social media with his lies and provocations. In tomorrow's election, we have one more opportunity to decide what kind of people we are and the country we want to be. Choose carefully, America.

William S. Becker is executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project and a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy.