Newsletter: The assignment is clear: Protect the vulnerable, guard democracy

Good morning. It is Saturday, Nov. 9. Here’s what’s happening in Opinion.

I included a photo of the Jan. 6 riot with this newsletter to make my point crystal clear: The reelection of Donald Trump is unalloyed bad news for the United States. The only president to stoke violent resistance to his lawful removal from office will, in fewer than three months, stand on the steps of the very Capitol his mob defaced and swear an oath to the Constitution he defied.

I have no other way to talk about this. The lessons I learned from elders who lived through fascist occupation in World War II are deeply ingrained in me — and every intellectual nerve that formed because of them is firing uncontrollably now. Yes, I know the free and fair election of a new president represents democracy in action, and the winner deserves recognition as our next president. And yes, I see that the peaceful transfer of power already underway in Washington shows the machinery of our republic remains intact. But it’s only because Trump himself tried to break this machinery that we must now hail its existence.

But as the saying goes — and as voters proved this week — you can’t fill your car’s gas tank with democracy or feed your kids with it. According to experts who analyze such things, voters expressed their dissatisfaction with the COVID-era economy overseen by the Biden administration by reelecting Trump. But as op-ed columnist Jackie Calmes noted after the election, even the economy is in for a shock if the next president fulfills his promise to immediately round up and deport millions of undocumented immigrants, not to mention the obvious mass suffering this would inflict.

But as the editorial board said, it’s important for people to resist succumbing to despair over the authoritarianism descending over this country and “continue to assert and rely on our rights and protections as Americans.� It is here, perhaps, where I find reason to hope, because the purpose of America’s loyal opposition has become clear: to protect the vulnerable (for example, immigrant families facing separation, women facing a future of waning reproductive rights, and sick Americans facing the inhumane vagaries of pre-Obamacare health insurance), and to protect the institutions that maintain our imperfect democracy.

As for all the Democratic Party soul-searching over winning messages and reaching disaffected voters, I’ll leave that to the savvy political minds. My concern, right now, is doing whatever will calm the head that lies on my pillow at night.

How do we contain political violence? UC San Diego professor Barbara F. Walter, an expert on political instability, says immediate post-election violence would have been more likely if Trump had lost, but the long-term outlook from his victory is bleaker. Groups that feel permanently shut out of power tend to rise up, and the president-elect’s expressed willingness to use military force against protesters portends future violent crackdowns.

Elon Musk bought himself a starring role in Trump’s second term. What could go wrong? Virginia Heffernan warns that the president-elect’s most high-profile billionaire cheerleader, whose businesses have multiple contracts with the federal government, “holds a top secret security clearance, which gives him access to information that could gravely damage national security if disclosed. And yet Musk has reportedly been conspiring — no other word for it, in my estimation — with the leaders of powers extremely hostile to the United States.�

Grade inflation is spreading from high school to college, and it hurts learning. Rising student grades are a good thing, right? Problem is, those high marks don’t necessarily represent better learning; in fact, says editorial board member Karin Klein, there’s evidence that students aren’t mastering the skills those grades suggest they have. She writes: “We have to ask ourselves as a society: Do we want college to be a place of intellectual growth or a performative exercise in grade grubbing?�

Are you sensing impending doom? Want to go in on a fallout shelter? Don’t ignore that feeling, writes Tamim Almousa. He writes: “So why aren’t fallout shelters more common? Nobody I know has one, and I know many people, some of whom are wealthy enough to live in million-dollar homes. If that sounds like you, consider this: What’s another 60 grand or so between friends?�

Foreign interference is now the norm, and it could fuel more violence under Trump. On election day, bogus bomb threats were sent to Democratic-heavy voting areas; the FBI said they came from Russian email domains. Colin P. Clarke warns that further foreign attempts to destabilize the country could result in a “surge in far-right violence� under the second Trump presidency.

More from opinion

From our columnists

• LZ Granderson: There’s no mystery. White women handed Trump the election
• Robin Abcarian: Don’t fall into total despair, Harris supporters. There was some good election night news
• Harry Litman: Will Trump launch a reign of terror against his list of enemies? There’s little to stop him

From guest contributors

• I’ve written novels about a female president since the 1980s. I’m ready for fiction to become reality
• Republican gerrymandering will shape control of Congress, and potentially the White House
• Voting in America is still secure. But a dark anti-election movement seeks to change that

From the Editorial Board

• California doesn’t have to choose between public safety and criminal justice reform
• Did you see all the signs opposing California’s same-sex marriage measure? Neither did I
• Election results may take time. That’s a fact, not grounds for conspiracy theories

Letters to the Editor

• From dread to elation, readers react to Donald Trump’s victory
• Readers discuss The Times’ non-endorsement in the presidential race
• Elephants don’t belong in zoos. Here’s how sanctuaries should house them