Expunging History: It’s How Authoritarians Roll

Erasing the Past to Control the Present & Future

Pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del to Reboot America & End the Republic

Last month, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R, NY) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, GA) introduced resolutions that would expunge Donald Trump’s two impeachments, changing the record “as if such articles had never been passed.” Such a House action is unprecedented, but it is in keeping with numerous attempts by Republicans* (the asterisk indicates that the name is false, because they no longer believe in a republican form of government) in many states to erase factual history. That process has all-too-many precedents in our nation’s past.

Authoritarians want to hit the “Delete” key on all truthful history that does not fit their narrative. If they can make enough people ignorant of actual history, they may be able to, in effect, press Ctrl + Alt + Del to reboot the operating system of our nation, ending democracy and establishing a dictatorship.

Expunging history – changing what people believe about the past – is essential to the project of authoritarians, which is always to seize power and end freedom.

Mr. Trump and his backers tried to expunge the results of the 2020 presidential election. Rightwing extremists have been trying, often successfully to get the ultra-