Sarah Gibbard Cook
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The Spanish Civil Warning

10/16/2023

4 Comments

 
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I’ve begun watching a lecture series on the Spanish Civil War. Though Spain in the 1930s had many distinctive aspects, some broader factors hold warning for the United States today.

Many Spaniards accepted the republican constitution of 1931 only so long as it served their objectives: secularization and land redistribution on one side, property rights and the Catholic Church on the other. Democracies work only if the majority respect their constitutions unconditionally. Playing by the rules matters more than any policy agenda. Responding to losses with “Not my president” or election denialism undermines democracy.

In the early 1930s, political opinions in Spain ranged over a broad spectrum. Only a small minority admired Stalin on the left or Mussolini on the right. When the attempted military coup of 1336 triggered a brutal civil war, everyone had to choose sides. Violence breeds polarization and empowers the fringe. Never have I seen more condoning of political violence in the U.S. than in the past few years.

As the two sides became increasingly identified with their extremes, what might once have been preferences or perspectives turned into moral imperatives. Combatants demonized their opponents. The non-negotiable defense of the Church or the working class excused any atrocity. Dehumanization rejects any outcome except total victory.

After the rebels won in 1939, Francisco Franco ruled Spain as dictator until his death in 1975. I hope the United States still has time to learn from Spain’s example.

Image: Bridge at Ronda, Spain. During the civil war, right-wing Nationalists allegedly threw left-wing Republicans to their deaths from the bridge.
4 Comments
Pat Groenewold
10/16/2023 11:06:46 am

I do wonder if we are capable of learning from history, even our own history. I hope so, because the alternative is terrifying.

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Allan Gibbard
10/16/2023 06:52:11 pm

Quite right, Sarah, alas. I spent a night in Spain on my first trip to Europe, before returning to North Africa. I of course couldn't observe much about the political regime, beyond what I knew anyway, but my memory is of being struck by triples of men in uniform carrying rifles.

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Sarah Cook link
10/17/2023 09:19:33 am

Scary image. I'd forgotten you'd been there. I have a similar memory of the Athens airport a few years later, patrols with machine guns. For Spain, my happy memories of Barcelona are enhanced by learning its role on the side of the left and regional autonomy.

Sarah Cook link
10/17/2023 09:21:56 am

Terrifying indeed. Of course, history never exactly repeats itself because the context is always differences, but it was spooky how often these lectures about most of a century ago conjured up current events.

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    I'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin. 


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