Antonio Navalón
Last November 8 will go down in US history as a turning point – if the trend of the mid-term election results holds -. It was a campaign that quietly and silently uncovered not only the winners and losers of the American representation but also a glimpse of what would happen if the destruction of the democratic society was accomplished. The system will not be in danger if those who govern are conservatives, moderates, reformers, or loyal to the establishment. But if, on the other hand, whoever ends up in power is radical and seeks to change everything… the future of democracy will be uncertain.
If Donald Trump becomes President of the United States again, despite all the outrages committed, there will be much to analyze and question. Two years after being replaced by Joe Biden and two years before the new presidential elections, the coin is still in the air, and there is still a long way to go. However, what happened last Tuesday gives a great insight into what might happen in 2024. The past mid-term elections in the United States show that bringing societies to the point of maximum confrontation can only bring terrible consequences. Polarisation as a system, and hatred as the fuel of social evolution, always end badly.
We have reached a point where it is no longer just that lies displace reality, but that – if you look closely – the mood and the repeated, sustained cry of a lie are more important than the actual result of truth, as Joseph Goebbels argued. Today, here and now, in many places, the election does not need to take place; it is enough that the result, the message of hatred, separation, and confrontation, is constantly repeated until it renders the election result unnecessary.
What is at risk at the moment is democracy. One thing that is not yet being carefully analyzed is the indirect cost of the campaign to steal the 2020 election, which has never been proven or even minimally sustained. What is maintained is the incitement from the Oval Office to reproduce lies and false allegations of election fraud so that there would be a whole army to prevent or not allow the possibility of saying that this election was also fraudulent.
Democracy is sick of populism and has big questions to resolve, including the answer to what the democrats are helpful for and where they want to take the people. The United States is an example that must be studied very carefully because if – as I hope – what happened last Tuesday in the United States is a turning point, then the price that must be paid to change the course of history is never high enough. But, if this is not the case, one must realize that lies are founded on truths that no one demands enough to enforce leading. A case in point is the 2020 presidential election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump and the argument that this election was a scam and a robbery. To date, this remains unproven; the only investigations underway are those linking former President Trump to direct or indirect responsibility – that is for the courts to determine – for the riot that took place on January 6, 2021, on Capitol Hill.
That was the path. The outcome or objective of this election that just took place was to finish consummating or not what is the beginning of the most significant misalignment and breach of social understanding in the United States since the time of Abraham Lincoln. Many substantial and important things have been touched in these years of political frivolity, hopefully, the last of their kind. To be able to rule, declare, accuse or skewer one’s enemies without evidence is the end of the rule of law and the separation of powers. These actions are the sign and proof of governments based on bullying and aprioristic disqualification of everything and result in a social confrontation that, if not dealt with in time, can only end through warlike expression.
The House of Representatives will be Republican-dominated. This majority means more than you might say at first glance as it could be, or not, a tool for Donald Trump to use to flatten his path back to the White House. In any case, for the rest of us – let’s assume I am referring to a country like Mexico – it is fundamental to know that what we saw in these mid-term elections is a test of where the lying, abuse and no need to prove it that is said as a system of government is leading.
We are in the midst of a confrontation that is neither civilized nor political. A confrontation that, in the end, seeks to consolidate the right of those who believe themselves to be in possession of the truth to annul, influence, disqualify and modify what Joseph Stalin decreed as the supreme responsibility. Stalin said: “It does not matter how you vote or who votes or where or for whom. The important thing is who counts the votes”. This is a good and beautiful lesson that is alive and well today in the cradle of democracy. In the place that for more than a hundred years was the ultimate expression of democracy and the great example to follow, that is to say, in the United States of America. Let us learn from the lessons when they are positive and avoid repeating the negative ones.
Given this, the House of Representatives will be Republican-dominated. This majority means more than meets the eye, as it may or may not be a tool for Donald Trump to use to smooth his way back to the White House. In any case, for the rest of us – let’s assume I am referring to a country like Mexico – it is fundamental to know that what we saw in these mid-term elections is a test of where lying, abuse, and not needing to prove what is said as a system of government leads.
We are amidst a confrontation that is neither civilized nor political. A fight that, in the end, seeks to consolidate the right of those who believe themselves to be in possession of the truth to annul, influence, disqualify and modify what Joseph Stalin decreed as the supreme responsibility. Stalin said: “It does not matter how you vote or who votes or where or for whom. The important thing is who counts the votes”. This is a good and beautiful lesson that is alive and well today in the cradle of democracy. In the place that for more than a hundred years was the ultimate expression of democracy and the great example to follow, that is to say, in the United States of America. Let us learn from the lessons when they are positive and avoid repeating the negative ones.
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