There are many factors that are essential for the maintenance of a strong democracy. Unfortunately, the modern Republican Party and the Trump administration are slowly chipping away at some of the most important pillars of democratic stability.

A Large Middle Class

A large middle-class is one of the most powerful forces in creating and maintaining a strong democratic nation. They act as a buffer between the powerful and wealthy elites—who spend significant time and resources trying to manipulate government and policies in their favor— and the vulnerable poor—who are so focused on surviving day-to-day that they cannot spend time worrying about their political rights.

A thriving middle-class is a large group of people who have numbers and resources on their side; they must work to prevent the elites from taking away their rights and affecting their economic welfare, and they have the resources and time to be engaged in the type of political action that such a battle requires.

So basically, a middle-class tempers the pursuits of the elites in society and helps protect those who cannot protect themselves.Yet another reason the middle class is important—inequality breeds conflict. When people with nothing live in the same society as people who have everything, they become angry and lash out.

Many revolutions begin because the poor masses, who are barely struggling to survive, see a few societal elites living in extravagance, and revolt against whatever government is in place. A strong middle-class tempers class resentment; they are not ultra-wealthy, but they are comfortable not struggling like the lower class.

The Republican Party is unconcerned with growing inequality and is implementing policies and reforms that will only deepen the wealth divide. See: increasing taxes on the poor, reducing taxes on the ultra-wealthy, eliminating public social services.

By catering too much to the elites at the expense of the other 99% of America, and whittling down the middle-class, the Republicans are paving the way for mass discontent and a potential democratic breakdown.

A Stable, Developed Bureaucracy

“Big government is bad.” This is a common trope pushed by conservatives that aims to convince people that the only thing the federal government does is get in the way of liberty and prosperity. “Career bureaucrats” is another catchphrase that conservatives love to tout as an example of government overreach.

“These people aren’t elected, they’re just career bureaucrats!”

“The federal government makes people’s lives harder and limits our freedoms!”

Well, I am here to tell you that—like most things in life—the federal government and the bureaucracy is way more complicated than that. First of all, the “government” is not a homogenous entity intent on destroying your life.

It is a massive, super complex entity that employs millions of people, including soldiers, teachers, postal workers, politicians, and administrators. (So, when Donald Trump brags about “eliminating thousands of government jobs,” those are real, normal people who are now unemployed. Thanks.)

Second, this super complex administrative bureaucracy exists FOR A REASON. Take a look around you, wherever you are. If you are in your kitchen—the milk in your fridge has been produced by relatively health cows, pasteurized, and labeled with an expiration date, all to protect you from getting sick and dying. Guess what? Thank the government.

If you are in a building—notice how it has not collapsed on top of you, how the electricity is working safely, how the plumbing in the bathroom keeps things clean and sanitized. Guess what? Thank the government!

If you are a child under the age of 14 who is in school right now and not working in a factory, if you are a worker who is making over $2 an hour, if you are a driver who uses the interstate—Guess what? Thank the government!

This is all possible because of the government and the bureaucracy that crafts, monitors, and implements policies designed to keep American citizens safe and ensure the maintenance of a modern, civilized society. Without government intervention, there would be no incentive to pasteurize milk, no reason to require children to go to school, and no one to pave and repair roadways and interstates.

Next, another crazy concept... “Career bureaucrats” are normal American citizens. They are often under-compensated for the level of work that they do. They are your neighbors and friends and family members. They work in the government to make sure that dairy farms pasteurize their milk, that American children attend school, that contractors make their buildings safe enough to use.

“They aren’t elected! They sit in those cushy jobs for years and years and do nothing!”

There are many reasons why electing people to bureaucratic positions is stupid and implausible.

First of all, these jobs are complicated and highly specialized. It takes certain areas of expertise and a certain level of experience in order to do them well. For example, I am like 99% sure that Linda from conservative suburbia has no earthly idea how detailed and complex the policy codes that keep our milk drinkable actually are. Here is a snapshot of all of the work and time that actually goes into milk pasteurization and safety.

The second reason why we can’t elect bureaucrats is that the entire system that coordinates society would have no stability. If we scrapped every single government regulation every year and elected people who had no experience is various agencies, there would be literal chaos.

There would be no consistency in milk pasteurization, for example, and the safety of your weekly gallon would vary from election cycle to election cycle. Not to mention, people who should be spending time working would instead be campaigning for jobs they may or may not be qualified for.

Trump and the Republicans are systematically trying to dismantle the federal bureaucracy. Most of the President’s nominees are people who have literally advocated for the dissolution of the various departments that have been picked to “lead.”

Mick Mulvaney, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has called the department a “joke” and campaigned in Congress to abolish the agency altogether.

Rick Perry, the Secretary of Energy, publicly called for the elimination of the Energy Department.

Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has sued the EPA 13 times and believes climate change is a hoax.

Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, thinks that the department is too involved in education and refuses to enforce its anti-discrimination protections for students.

Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of State, has failed to recommend nominees for dozens of crucial ambassadorial posts and scrapped the Coordinator of Sanctions Policy Office.

Under the guise of “deregulation,” the Trump administration and the Republican Party are quietly but systematically stripping the administrative bureaucracy of this country down to nothing, and regular Americans will be hurt when they do.

A High Voter Turnout

This one is pretty straightforward. In order for a democratic country to work, people need to vote. It’s easy for us to write off low American voter turnout as “apathy” or “disengagement from politics,” that answer is not supported by any legitimate data or research. Actually, most analysts believe that our low voter turnout can be attributed to two big things—voter suppression and registration.

Conservatives are notorious for voter suppression. They advocated literacy tests for black Americans who wanted to vote in the early 1900s, and when that became illegal, they turned to other forms of discrimination, like extensive voter ID laws. (Which Republicans claim as necessary to prevent voter fraud.)

Voter fraud is a myth. Sorry, but Mr. President is spewing straight lies when he tells you it happened. It didn’t. It seriously never happens. Americans are more likely to get struck by lightning than commit voter fraud.

On top of ID laws, our country is unique in how difficult we make the actual process of voting. We are only allowed to vote one day a week, between very limited hours. For people who work full time or can’t afford to get off, voting is not something they can afford to do.

Other democracies allow an entire week for voting, online voting, or national days-off so that workers can vote penalty-free.

Also, we put a lot of people in jail. Many states have rules that prevent these felons from ever being able to vote again, and therefore a significant portion of our voting-age population can't participate in the election process even if they wanted to.

Our voting process is also very complicated. Unlike most other countries—where you are automatically registered by the government and simply show up to vote on election day—registration in the US is a time-sensitive and sometimes confusing process. Registration deadlines vary wildly from state to state, people think they’ve registered and show up to vote but can’t. Some states require people to register with parties, others don’t. If we had automatic voter registration I guarantee that more people would vote.

So basically, our current voting setup is perfect for older, retired Americans and terrible for minorities and working-class people. In other words, great for Republicans, bad for Democrats. If Republicans are scared of getting more Americans out to vote, then maybe the party needs to figure out what the hell they are doing.

If you are not seeing what the Republican Party is doing, you need to wake up and pay attention.

Although I could list a dozen more destructive actions being taken by these people, I’ll leave it at this for now. I am terrified for the future of this country, our democratic stability, and our governmental capabilities. And I think you should be too.