Monday, November 2, 2020

Cynicism 2020

 


There is a reason why I write this a day before the Presidential election in the USA. That is because I don't want it to be perceived as written in jubilation if the side I am rooting for wins, or in despair if it loses. I write this as a full-fledged member of a democracy - a form of government of the people, by the people, for the people - taking accountability for whatever is along with the hundreds of millions of other participants

No matter who wins the election, my cynicism runs high today about
  • heels dug deep in the muck that preclude any other point of view. "My way or highway" is contrary to the fundamentals of democracy, and has resulted in "you belong in the majority, or you don't matter"
  • checks and balances that live in name only, and we have witnessed a blatant abuse of power
  • the motives of the politicians in running a country - a boost to their ego, I can accept; widespread nepotism and corruption, I cannot
  • the years it will take to recover from the damage to the fabric of the nation - whether it is a form of government, or respect for science, or acceptance of a different-looking/thinking/worshipping person
  • .....
The father of democracy, Cleisthenes, and the founding fathers of the United States are spinning in their graves. Cynicism is a negative emotion. I have it today. But then, knowing the problems to be solved and accepting them is necessary to work towards resolving them.

1 comment:

Tushar said...

Excellent and timely column on the eve of the most important election in my lifetime in USA .Everybody is cynical and few people are changing their minds. That’s the takeaway from the House’s impeachment hearings We’re Ignoring A Crisis Of Entrenched Cynicism in American Democracy .Yes, some people — from bigots in the Rust Belt regions to the ones who are misguided — are simply racist. Some people voted for Trump because of fear of foreigners. Some are concerned about their economy. Many American voters despise both parties and chose to detach and be indifferent

Not voting is the biggest damage of this cynicism. According to the Census Bureau, 19.1 million Americans chose not to vote in the last presidential election. The bureau estimates that 16 percent of the eligible voters refused to vote because they were “not interested,” and another 13 percent felt that they lacked political agency and “did not like the candidates or campaign issues.”