The US presidential election clearly shows democratic elections are no longer rational.
It is patently clear now from the US presidential election that democracies are fundamentally flawed and no longer rational. Despite the open contestation of ideas, the pre election polling shows that rationality and sensibilities are no longer prevalent.
People are partisan and most are blind followers. I am not advocating Hillary, but the fact that Trump has a seizable followings similar to Hillary on the back of his bigotry and siege hatred messages, simply shows that even citizens of the most developed nation, the US, does not value rationality and coherence.
It’s all about partisanship. Trump may lose the race but the fact that he is giving Hillary a run for her money says a lot about the system we all inherit.
What we are seeing now is how a democratic system breeds extreme partisanship. No matter how an issue is contested publicly, anybody watching the mainstream media in the like of CNN will realise all issues are defended on partisanship.
There’s no more honest or dialectic discourse to source the truth. It’s always about defending partisanship. Right or wrong is no longer dependent on the act but who does it. If I like a person he is right. If I don’t it’s wrong no matter it’s the same act.
Thus people who support trump justify bigotry and misogyny and supporting Hilary justify the killings of many of her foreign meddling.
And this will be the greatest failing of a democracy: extreme partisanship resulting in gridlock paralyzing ordinary national policy making and effective governance.
We are seeing this in the stalled US national Budget and appointment of judges. It’s no longer about the nation. It’s about defending partisanship.
This US presidential election clearly shows how irrationality prevails. How extreme partisanship takes hold of national discourse. How more and more becoming disenchanted and frustrated with the system.
I think we need to relook at the system. Tweak or twitch the system. As partisanship grows and becomes balanced, this will be inevitable. No rational argument will prevail.
If trump wins for example, US will become more divisive than ever. And this does not only apply to the US but to other matured or maturing democracies.
Lukman Sheriff
This article originally published at Lukman’s Facebook.
