In general, I’ve never really given much thought to “democracy” — that is, as conventional wisdom dictated to my apparent preconceived notion, democracy is good, right?
Well, after reading Andrew Sullivan’s piece, “America Has Never Been So Ripe for Tyranny”, in the New York Magazine, I really began to question to what extent is democracy actually beneficial to our country. Yes, generally speaking, I do believe that equal opportunities and rights for all people is something that we need to work on and strive for. However, specifically speaking, we should be more cautious in regards to how open-minded we are actually being and following through with the “mob mentality” when we elect our president.
In respect to this preparedness, Sullivan argues that America’s stability in terms of democracy is largely due to the Founding Father’s consideration of Plato’s fear that democracy may inevitably be a birthing site for tyranny: “To guard our democracy from the tyranny of the majority and the passions of the mob, they constructed large, hefty barriers between the popular will and the exercise of power.”
As portrayed by recent events, Americans have seemingly started to become more tolerant of having anybody lead their country because nobody trusts politicians. But, at the same time, no “ordinary” citizen truly knows how the government operates as well as the people of their eminent distrust. Evident by the once-running campaigns of Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson, but fully exacerbated by the Republican candidate Donald Trump, “this further widening of our democracy — our increased openness to being led by anyone; indeed, our accelerating preference for outsiders — is now almost complete.”
Are we really going to let someone with no political background lead our country? Honestly, this really terrifies me, and political affiliation aside, I think we all should be worried. When our “democracy” broadens so much so to the point where our next president has even resorted to name-calling his opponents in a debate, paired with all of the ridiculous remarks he has made in his spotlight, we should be concerned. Additionally, Sullivan even remarks that perhaps the GOP should stop trying to justify their support for Trump and instead sacrifice this election for the sake of our country.
Essentially, I think both a framework of governance and equal rights should be present, but there’s a line to be drawn before we crossover the lines of a “democracy” in this regard.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/america-tyranny-donald-trump.html#