Cheers to democracy, a rocky pot-holed road

Shelly Walia

THE ongoing election campaign in the US has shaken even the most ardent believer. It defies logic and intelligence and has upended the most respected polls in the world's most powerful nation. The outcome of this election will have far-reaching ramifications in the entire world; and the way things stand today, the final outcome could send international shock waves, causing grave consternation amongst the global community. 

We may end up questioning the very doctrine of democracy on the grounds that all that democracy does cannot be justified simply because the people decided to do so. The two most representative countries with a democratic form of political governance are India and the United States, the former the most populous and the latter the most prosperous. India is riddled with an overabundance of systemic issues that make the functioning of a free and fair democracy a dream bordering on delusion. The US, on the contrary, guarantees to all its citizens the right to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness under equal protection and assurance of equal rights although issues of race, religion, gender and sexual orientation taint the true representative nature of a well-oiled democracy.

Democracy has to be judged by its results and the results are not good at all. This has become glaringly obvious in the election campaign run by the Republican nominee Donald Trump. At no time in the history of this democracy has an election been so hijacked by a racist and a misogynist through a manifesto of nativism and economic populism. His platform is limited to the tens of millions who feel their rights and freedom are being assaulted by the burgeoning sea of immigrants arriving on the shores of this democracy seeking a better life. These are the disgruntled unemployed or underemployed, under-educated mostly white males who see their way of life permanently change with the influx of something they resent with remarkable passion. Donald Trump gives expression to this suppressed vitriol by shouting from the rooftops. A quasi-Republican, he has become the main contender by repackaging the hallucinatory vision of restoring American greatness and selling it to the blue-collar working class whites who have fiscally identified with the democratic party for generations but are now willing to enter into fisticuffs with anyone who opposes Trump. 

Apparently, there is no room in this democracy for the inclusion — regardless of race, colour or gender, or freedom of expression and equal protection under one set of rules. This is a democracy of the angry, bigoted and narrowly focused, who dream of returning America from the masses to its Christian roots, to communities of one colour, where marriages take place between men and women, everyone is heterosexual, guns are sacred and everyone lives happily ever after. How did American politics get here? Why did a blustery “real estate agent” whom every sensible person thought would perish and burn within days of his decision to run for President, go on to become the nominee for the Republican Party, virtually tying with Hillary Clinton who is the voice of reason, inclusion and experience? The only explanation is that democracy often falls into the hands of the ignorant and the irrational, the biased and the mean, and thus is an inadequate system of electing a competent government. 

To lack strong opinions on political issues or have no opinions at all or only pre-existing options from which you refuse to budge makes most of the voters the typical majority that has the last word. We may ridicule or malign Trump but the bitter truth underlying this phenomena is that the so-called electorate that put him almost at the finishline despite being a virulent wind bag, does not grasp the true depth of what it entails to be a responsible member of a democracy. It seems unaware of the real danger of electing a misguided, poorly equipped person to be the leader of the free world. This racist, foul- mouthed demagogue, lacking any political or administrative experience or foreign policy acumen, today stands equal chances of winning. Until the time the US has an electorate that is socially aware, and adequately versed in civic affairs, it will have a myopic democracy. The American populace must understand the huge burden placed on it to elect not someone who speaks to their limited vision of life but who envisions the larger good, one that benefits most. It must keep in mind that in the interest of electing an able leadership it is willing to forsake its prejudice and bias. It is time the nation acknowledges the deplorables who thwart any chance of living in a truly enlightened democracy. For a democratic system to be fully representative of the will of the people, both the elected members and those that put them there need to be knowledgeable enough in political, social and economic matters that underpin the country. When this elected government is laden with layers of bureaucracy, it engenders the rot of graft and lack of transparency, disempowering the common man and scuttling the wheels of the democratic machine. In addition, sufficient checks and balances need to keep those in power accountable and responsible for executing on their promise to the electorate. An independent judiciary is indeed critical to the smooth and stable functioning of a democracy as is a firm, unbiased and fair rule of law. 

Just as we cannot put an intemperate boor like Trump in the White House, we cannot pick an outrageously unrestrained loudmouth like Duterte at the head of the Philippines, nor can we afford a head of state who even faintly smacks of extremist views in a secular behemoth like India. With freedom comes the tremendous responsibility of electing a leader who will govern firmly and fairly, and help in the evolution of the democracy. Just as the accused have the right to a fair trial, citizens have the right to a competent government. The road to a more sustainable democracy is long and paved with innumerable obstacles but it's still the only way forward. Two cheers to democracy.

The writer is a Professor in the Department of English & Cultural Studies, Panjab University.