Political Perspective

GEORGE Bernard Shaw once said that ‘democracy is a device which ensures that we shall be governed no better than we deserve’, and while I’m a staunch proponent of democratic governance in the absence of a more workable solution to this tricky question, one cannot help but apply this quotation to the recent US elections which once again put in power a man whose inherent megalomania has already done great damage, not only in his home country, but more seriously, in many other parts of the world.

Ordinarily, shifts from right to left to centrist politics, or vice versa, in different parts of the world impact primarily on the local population, and don’t have much effect on countries and people beyond their own borders, if they are reasonably democratic, that is. However, in the case of the US, the most powerful country on the globe, and one always seen as the home of democracy, the person of the President most certainly determines a lot of what happens in the rest of the world, and somehow, we all have a stake in who that person is as well as the choices he makes which affect so many of us.This is not something I believe the broad majority of the American public have realised.Not in any case renowned for their interest in world politics or indeed geography beyond the confines of their own borders, their decision to re-elect George W Bush will yet have repercussions they may not have dreamed of.The fact that ‘moral values’ formed the core motivation of the pro-Bush voter, is shocking.The war in Iraq, unemployment, civil liberties and other socially vital issues in the US, were apparently simply peripheral issues to the more central theme of protection of family values, as they are termed! As I said earlier, if a dictator comes to power or a leader rules through oppression, the world has the right (even a duty) to expose and denounce and try to change things for the better.On our own continent we have condemned the Abachas, the Mobutus, the Savimbis and the Mugabes and others whose despotic politics have led to the ruination of countries in Africa.But is Bush, even though he is presiding over what is termed the world’s greatest democracy, any better? We all know by now that the invasion of Iraq was a massive fraud and that alleged weapons of mass destruction could not be found and neither were they the issue for doing what he did.He has succeeded only in destabilising that part of the world, and both the US and the world will continue to reap the consequences of this action.To add insult to injury, he is eroding civil liberties back home in the US, and many Americans haven’t yet woken up to this fact.His obsession with terrorism is not combating this evil, merely adding fuel to the fire, and a second term is not likely to temper his militarism.We at home may legitimately and vehemently contest, for example, a fourth term for our own President because we believe it is not in the best interests of our democracy.And we do so.But had there been a fourth term, it would have been Namibians who would have borne the brunt and not the rest of the world.In the case of Bush’s second term, the decision of the US electorate will undoubtedly, as it already has, impact negatively on fragile and emergent democracies the world over.For whereas in the past the US enjoyed a measure of moral high ground, and the ability to deter (if they wanted to, which was not always the case) acts of excess in other parts of the world, they have now lost that ability in the re-election of George W Bush.What is absolutely core to the success of democratic systems the world over, and this most particularly applies to the US, is that the voters are made aware of their country’s place in the rest of the world.Otherwise, in the words of an African-American friend of mine pronouncing his disappointment with what has just happened back home, they may yet live to rue the day.And so will the rest of us.However, in the case of the US, the most powerful country on the globe, and one always seen as the home of democracy, the person of the President most certainly determines a lot of what happens in the rest of the world, and somehow, we all have a stake in who that person is as well as the choices he makes which affect so many of us.This is not something I believe the broad majority of the American public have realised.Not in any case renowned for their interest in world politics or indeed geography beyond the confines of their own borders, their decision to re-elect George W Bush will yet have repercussions they may not have dreamed of.The fact that ‘moral values’ formed the core motivation of the pro-Bush voter, is shocking.The war in Iraq, unemployment, civil liberties and other socially vital issues in the US, were apparently simply peripheral issues to the more central theme of protection of family values, as they are termed! As I said earlier, if a dictator comes to power or a leader rules through oppression, the world has the right (even a duty) to expose and denounce and try to change things for the better.On our own continent we have condemned the Abachas, the Mobutus, the Savimbis and the Mugabes and others whose despotic politics have led to the ruination of countries in Africa.But is Bush, even though he is presiding over what is termed the world’s greatest democracy, any better? We all know by now that the invasion of Iraq was a massive fraud and that alleged weapons of mass destruction could not be found and neither were they the issue for doing what he did.He has succeeded only in destabilising that part of the world, and both the US and the world will continue to reap the consequences of this action.To add insult to injury, he is eroding civil liberties back home in the US, and many Americans haven’t yet woken up to this fact.His obsession with terrorism is not combating this evil, merely adding fuel to the fire, and a second term is not likely to temper his militarism.We at home may legitimately and vehemently contest, for example, a fourth term for our own President because we believe it is not in the best interests of our democracy.And we do so.But had there been a fourth term, it would have been Namibians who would have borne the brunt and not the rest of the world.In the case of Bush’s second term, the decision of the US electorate will undoubtedly, as it already has, impact negatively on fragile and emergent democracies the world over.For whereas in the past the US enjoyed a measure of moral high ground, and the ability to deter (if they wanted to, which was not always the case) acts of excess in other parts of the world, they have now lost that ability in the re-election of George W Bush.What is absolutely core to the success of democratic systems the world over, and this most particularly applies to the US, is that the voters are made aware of their country’s place in the rest of the world.Otherwise, in the words of an African-American friend of mine pronouncing his disappointment with what has just happened back home, they may yet live to rue the day.And so will the rest of us.