West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said that if the nation’s voters give former President Donald Trump another term in the White House, “he will destroy democracy in America.” There are many Democrats and Republicans who share this opinion. Be that as it may, the pertinent question is whether this democracy, under the leadership of a demented man and marred by incompetence and corruption, is worth preserving.

Over the last few decades, our institutions—marriage, religion, the free-market economy, the judicial system, and the reliance on individual liberty—have been emasculated as outmoded, unfair, and discriminatory. These changes have destabilized the pillars of our constitutional system.

American political parties have undergone ideological restructuring, as well. In the past, despite ideological differences over a broad range of issues, including the role of government and various social concerns, the members of the two parties still shared the same ideals and aspirations: self-reliance, belief in a free-market economy, and dedication to the democratic process. Therefore, they could work out their disagreements and get important legislation passed. President Nixon summarized it in reference to John F. Kennedy, “We agreed on our goals, but we disagreed on the means.”

That is no longer the postulate of what once was a distinct form of democracy. In recent decades, the Democrat party adopted Marxism, meaning the Democrats no longer offer a different philosophy for achieving the same objectives. For years, they have had a different philosophy and have pursued objectives contrary to America’s historical values and the core tenets of American idealism.

Picture made using an image by Navyatha. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Conservatism, the professed ideology of the Republican Party, which advocates limited government, fiscal restraint, self-reliance, and individual liberty, has not been practiced since Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Ironically, its most consistent rejection since than has been from within the Republican Party. Consequently, elections have boiled down to rival lists of promises that neither party takes seriously.

A pivotal role in reshaping the country’s legacy belongs to former President Barack Obama. Even after his tenure, his vision of a fundamental transformation of America continued unabated. The country embarked on rewriting and reinterpreting the nation’s history and revising the values once held dear. The Constitution, originally crafted to safeguard and empower “we the people,” has been repurposed into a tool for governmental oppression.

The founders of this nation have been condemned, and their monuments have been demolished or defaced. To that end, we have opened old wounds and undermined the foundation of our unity by dismantling memorials honoring the heroes of the Confederacy, which were erected as symbols of reconciliation after the bloody Civil War.

A poignant illustration of the epochal shift in our democracy is the order removing revered Founding Father Alexander Hamilton from the Capitol Rotunda. Meanwhile, Newark, New Jersey, installed a golden statue honoring a habitual criminal, George Floyd.

Our government is weaponizing law enforcement to prosecute political opponents, suppressing free speech, wiping away the country’s sovereignty by having open borders, and offering suffrage to illegal aliens. American cities look like garbage dumps plagued by the presence of drugs and escalating crime rates. Deeply in debt and entrenched in a perpetual state of war for the last three decades, this nation is unraveling from within.

Our covenants are broken, and our cherished values and historical heritage are under assault and crumbling. America’s polarization is at levels not seen since the Civil War. The cornerstone of our democracy—free and fair elections—has been brutally tarnished and is an illusion to millions of citizens. The beacon of liberty is dimming.

Indeed, is there anything left of our democracy that needs to be “jealously guarded and courageously defended?” Therefore, the issue is not whether Trump may destroy democracy in America; the tragedy is that he is trying to save the country that no longer exists.

Alexander G. Markovsky is a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, a think tank that examines national security, energy, risk analysis, and other public policy issues. He is the author of Anatomy of a Bolshevik and Liberal Bolshevism: America Did Not Defeat Communism, She Adopted It. Mr. Markovsky is the owner and CEO of Litwin Management Services, LLC. He can be reached at alexander.g.markovsky@gmai.com