Coups d'état in our lifetime
Illustration by author
The first tabletop globe that I ever saw included a huge swath of land spanning much of the continent of Asia and lapping over into Europe, called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). As a student, I remember learning about coups d'état and coup attempts around the world. They always sounded like far away problems that happened in distant places. After all, I witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union while I was in high school.
I didn’t fully grasp the magnitude of things back in middle school when President Ronald Reagan addressed a crowd at the Brandenburg Gate in June 1987:
“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate.
Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Three days after my birthday in 1989, it finally happened! I remember the goosebumps I felt as we watched the television news showing sledgehammer-wielding, everyday people demolishing the wall that had stood for decades between Berliners.
(Side note, my younger brother was born in “West Germany” while my family lived there during my dad’s deployment in the mid- to-late-1970s.)
Two years after the Berlin Wall came down, the USSR finally fell, ending 44 years of the Cold War era. (People in my Southern Evangelical circles back then were convinced it was a sign of the End Times.)
Then-Secretary of State James Baker itemized five guiding principles for the emerging former-Soviet republics, as the USSR crumbled in 1991:
1. self-determination consistent with democratic principles;
2. recognition of existing borders;
3. support for democracy and rule of law;
4. preservation of human rights and rights of national minorities; and
5. respect for international law and obligations.
The gist of the message was that if the newly freed republics would align themselves with these principles, then they could anticipate not only cooperation, but also assistance from the U.S. Here we are now, 34 years in the future, and it feels like my country has done a 180. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that an American President would ever cozy up to the Soviets.
What is a coup? It’s “a sudden and decisive change of government illegally or by force.” That sounds like strong language – and it is – but consider that definition in light of the present reality. Our current Commander-in-Chief has violated ALL FIVE of Baker’s democratic principles, and it has only been a month since he took office:
1. He and the dodgy DOGE goons have illegally usurped congressional and judicial power, claiming unfettered access for themselves, despite policies and legislation to the contrary;
2. He has inexplicably turned the tables on Ukraine, contradicting the true narrative and putting the blame on them for starting conflict with Russia, when in fact, Russia invaded Ukraine;
3. He has zero respect for the rule of law or the Constitution, as exhibited in too many ways to count, but most recently through touting himself as a “king” on social media and illegally claiming that he is above the law;
4. He has completely undermined the constitutionally defended rights of U.S. citizens – namely, historically marginalized populations, including ethnic & religious groups and women, in general;
5. He has insulted & offended our closest allies and defiantly ignored supranational agreements.
Even a decade ago, I would not have believed that a coup would be something I would witness first-hand in my lifetime, but that mindset changed in 2015. Now, we are experiencing an inexplicable level of chaos within what I’ve always assumed to be the Greatest Country in the World, yet those who have the power to nip it in the bud are kowtowing to it, instead.
We would do well to remember that our young, democratic republic is no more insulated or protected than those former-Soviet republics trying to redefine themselves back in the early 1990s. Freedom is not inherent, and the time may soon be at our doorstep that we must fight for it, in order to keep it.
