Countless times at International airports and while in the WEST, I have asked their natives about their perception of their leaders, and one line has always been reverberated - “Politicians, they’re all corrupt. They’re all the same, aren’t they?”
The Western world often claims to attribute its successful development to democracy and democratic institutions. However, in a recent Gallup poll report asking Americans about their confidence in their institutions, many expressed less confidence in them.
Noteworthy, the poll showed lows in confidence for all three branches of the federal government - the Supreme Court (25%) - Judiciary, the Presidency (23%) - Executive and Congress (7%) - Legislature. Yes, you read that, just 7% for Congress!!!!
The United States, the United Kingdom and European countries have for decades parroted the notion that democracy gave birth to open society and equal opportunity, and liberty and this helped to grow their economies. And they are keen to spread it across the world as a successful model of government.
As we have seen in recent years, many Americans are self-censuring. Self-censorship is on the rise as nearly two-thirds of Americans are afraid to share their political views. Many Americans say the political climate today prevents them from saying what they believe. They feel they are walking on eggshells.
In a related recent YouGov poll, Most Britons said that at least sometimes they feel unable to express their political or social views for fear of judgement or negative responses
Yes, the two are examples of a Free Country!!!!
Of Liberties - The right to protest is an important part of Western "Liberal" democracy and the right to free expression. However, more and more, we are seeing examples of this freedom of expression being criminalized.
There is a popular and globally pervasive mythology that imagines Canada as a beacon of equality and civility. What we saw with the treatment of the Truck-drivers protest was revealing.
As the protests went on, sections of Canada’s governing class and elites, especially in Ottawa and Washington, started to sound more like the authoritarians (they claim to hate) than friendly local officials.
There was an "alleged" hack on a list of donors to a Freedom Convoy crowdfunding page that was leaked and shared with the media. The illegally obtained donor list was cheerfully shared by public officials, who relished the chance to expose the private details of their fellow citizens as punishment for exercising their constitutional right to donate to a peaceful protest.
Norms of privacy and basic decency appear to have totally collapsed. Who still remembers the leaked Trump Tax returns that the media had no shame freely publishing, anyway?
In recent times, anything that goes against the Liberal or left agenda has been deemed and parroted as a threat to democracy. In another article, I will go on and on with this.
Are such DEMOCRATIC acts still correlated with successful development?
No, they aren't. Western development cannot be credited to democracy or liberty. In reality, the West developed on the back of exploitation and looting of resources of weak nations. Western nations colonized countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa and plundered their resources. They made them slaves and played havoc with their lives and resources.
The US turned Native Americans into third-rate citizens.
In recent times, the battle in America has been about Critical Race Theory, and the architects of this have asserted - for America to tackle Racism, they should embrace their racist history and it should be taught.
Did I just say Racism???
It has been said that all American institutions are racist - Can a country be democratic while rooted in Racism?
Bottomline is - Western claims of democracy do not hold water in the face of facts. In reality, democracy is only an eyewash. It is a tool to extract economic benefits and control nations.
After World War II, the West changed tactics and moved from occupying countries to controlling them through institutions. Western countries introduced a new model of democracy - The warlord democracy based on the principles of warlord capitalism.
……. To be continued.
Hillary is the Founder of hillarykbainny.com. He is also the Uganda Youth Leader to UN. He is a Debate and Speech Protagonist. He is also the Founder of Public Policy Forum Uganda. He is a Sexual Revolutionist
Hillary K Bainny 2024. All Rights Reserved. Designed by Buzen Technologies Co. Ltd
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Yes, I must admit amnot a fun of reading, but gave it a shot. I must conclude it's true Democracy can be practiced and promoted amidst RACISM, only if the problem (Racism) is first admitted to be there, then dealt with.. Otherwise, nice piece bro...