DailyPost 1564
INSPIRE OR INCITE
The denigration of democracy is not what it delivers or what it doesn’t, it is whether you have faith in the rule of law, the institutions and the process which sustains it. As democracy is primarily an interplay of political leaders with very little of contribution taken from anybody else, the harsh reality is that their undying faith in the above will decide it fate. Consequently, it would decide the faith of the population indirectly in the sacred essentials of democracy or its minor variant or something which has been camouflaged into democracy. Inspirational leadership is the key to democratic living, how much of it is left in the world would be never audited and found out.
Democracy presumes an egalitarian system at least from thinking point of view. Free to think and express for betterment without any fear or favour. Out of the democracy of mind, only political democracy will emanate and not the vice versa. The fate of political democracy emanates out of this, through the tool of its choice, the political party. What is the level of intra-party democracy would certainly be another topic of debate. Like the parliamentary debates we seem to have not documented the debates within the party, on variety of issues related to the party and to the democracy at large. Leadership by charisma of yesteryears has a totally different avatar today.
Leadership by sycophancy is order of the day. Charisma was from the leaders end, sycophancy is from the followers end. But there is a catch there. The followers are supposed to behave in that manner. Otherwise, you cease to exist, there are number of ways to exit you, if you don’t fall in line. The art of politics is to survive. There can be differences in military leadership but not in democratic political parties. From charisma at the time of revolutionary independence struggles post the Second World War to the inspirational ones of the new emerging democratic countries, we have finally degraded to sycophancy. Party line is the final line.
Once in power or even otherwise, the party line is the final line. Democracy begins and ends there. The ominous portend was very visible from day one of Trump Presidency. The party united like a rock. The belligerent behaviour kept on aggravating. The enquiry, the impeachment proceedings et al. The law and or order crisis emanating out of an outrageous act of a police official. When you can’t inspire to keep the flock together, which is necessity in democratic politics, you incite. Cheap and best. You don’t leave even the biggest existential crises of last 100 years out of your purview. Spilling venom and incitement are two sides of the same coin. The incidents at the Capitol Hill has put democracy to shame. Hope we don’t live to see it again.
INCITEMENT AS A DEMOCRATIC TOOL CAN DECIMATE US.
Sanjay Sahay