The Indispensable Double-Edged Sword

Reuters/Eduardo Munoz

Looking at this American election has taught me something that we should never underestimate in our lives ever again. A Democratic candidate, who supports the fundamental institutions to preserve a democracy of old, has won a decisive victory against a Republican who spent his whole focus to undermine the same institutions that got him into power. They both utilized a universal weapon that is as old as time and effective like no other, the popular will. The result of the popular will has spoken out loud and clear this time. It decided that this democracy is not yet to fail, not yet to succumb to the selfish temptations of an idiotic leader who created the perfect opportunity for fascism but failed to seize it. This got me thinking, what if the popular will choose the opposite? What would happen if America elected Trump again and agreed with his new norms and precedents?

Let us be clear with a few things, fascism, dictatorships, and oppressive governments are not made from nothing. They are made by design and choice. The failure of the state to provide an adequate form of governance that leaves the people in situations of extreme misfortune will lead to instability and search for a change of the status quo. This is where opportunistic populists will come in to seize this upon these phenomenal conditions to set forth their agenda and start changing the system. This results in the popular vote shifting towards their side and the populist leader gaining power. Before I go further, I must note one thing. When referring to populist, I am not referring to a particular side of the political spectrum, but rather to a style of campaigning and governance that centres around the leader taking control and fixing everything by appealing to the discontent popular vote. This is often done by dog-whistling tactics or by blaming the current system and party in charge, often accompanied by claims that ‘I solely can fix it’. Now we continue after clearing this up. After the populist leader claims power in democratic and legal ways, they begin to dismantle the system. They begin to shape it to their own twisted views, ideals, and vision regardless of anything. The result is different from what they promised or what the people wanted. Eventually, the will of the people becomes so broken and bent that they either repeat the cycle or break free of it to form a truly democratic nation that works for all.

There are many infamous examples to show for this. A rise of the populist movement around the world has seen these talking points soar along with policies and ideas that promote fascism and nationalism. The formation of the Soviet Union was a result of a revolution by the people of Russia against the Tsar. Perhaps this one will strike a more serious tone to really drive home the point, The Third Reich of Nazi Germany was able to form after Adolf Hitler was legally appointed Chancellor due to the Nazi Party winning 33% of the vote in the 1932 November elections. We all know the rest of the story. A classic manipulation with race-baiting tactics that ended costing millions of lives in a brutal dictatorship. The will of the people was so ill-informed and sick of the status quo that they resulted in extremes. This resulted in a failed state that is used today to simplify all that could go wrong with humanity. However, it was the result of democratic elections.

What happened in the elections recently reminded me very clearly of this. It showed that even with cruel policies, the death of American citizens, and becoming a laughing stock on the world stage, Donald J. Trump was still able to publish his own false narrative and use populist tactics that he used in 2016 in order to try and win again. This time it failed, and the democratic process yielded success. That is probably a by-product of Trump being himself. He allowed his mouth to outrun his thoughts way too many times, and this is what cost him the win. This keeps me up at night. The fact that a long-standing symbol of democracy was kept solely by the fact that however tried to ruin it was too stupid to do it successfully. The next time someone comes in with populist rhetoric for American voters to listen to, Beware! Listen with reason and elect not those who promise magical solutions but rather those who advocate democracy and human rights. It should not have come down to this, but at the end of the day, the will of the people is a double-edged sword. It can bring nations to successful democracies with progress or run nations into the ground. Be careful of which side you choose next time you vote!