The midterm elections are over, but the ideological warfare that they fueled is unlikely to end with the counting of votes. Republicans labeled numerous Democratic candidates socialists — even communists — and warned that America’s future depended on preventing a communist takeover. Democrats returned fire, describing some Republican candidates as fascists, authoritarians, and racists, warning that democracy itself was at stake. Both parties seemed determined to “save America” from the other.
It is true that both communist and fascist tendencies deserve vigilance — I understand that well, having lived under the hell of Chinese communism. Democracy is not a self-driving car. Its passengers must constantly watch the road, question the direction, and correct the steering before it crashes. But indiscriminately attaching historically charged labels to political opponents can itself damage democracy, and ultimately the quality of life that democracy is supposed to protect.
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