On the last day of the year one should be upbeat and full of vigour. Given the events of the last 2 plus years, it is ‘a tough ask’. Shortly after the United States Presidential election, I posted a blog on the 12th November 2020, entitled “What Price Delusion/Where are we now?”
“Turbulent times at the beginnings of the republic, and no less turbulent now. We have a man in place who is clearly mentally unfit for the office. He has demonstrated this throughout the world with his belligerent and bullying behaviour. At the slightest pretext, and in particular when asked a simple question, he turns to vilification and insult. He does not debate, he attacks, mocks and attempts to belittle anyone who shows the slightest disagreement or objection to what he says and does. His narcissism is beyond belief. He treats the White House as if it were a television studio hosting The Apprentice, including his daughter, sons and son-in-law as advisers just as he did on his reality show.
He has demonstrated little or no concern for the duties of his office or the people he is meant to represent. Nearly a quarter of a million deaths from the pandemic is considered nothing. No big deal. He refuses to accept any facts and denies what is before his very eyes with bombast and lies. Everything about him suggest a deluded and mentally impaired individual. Whilst mental illness does not call for condemnation, and normally invites offers of help to return to an acceptance of a relatively normal existence, when the patient occupies a position of grave importance such as President of the United States, it calls for removal and commitment to an institution where treatment is available. The tantrums we are witnessing as a result of the loss of his office are embarrassing and very sad, but also infuriating. So spoilt an individual needs a shock of some kind to bring him out of his trance, if delusion be a kind of trance.
America however, is in its own trance. The images of the various demonstrations in support of Mr. Trump and in support of Mr. Biden are dramatically distinguished by the number of assault weapons openly carried by the Trump camp. The picture of a man sporting a rifle over his shoulder whilst pushing his child in a carriage was jaw dropping. He shows just how dangerous Mr. Trump is. This image does not seem to disturb your average American. Their media is made up of reality television on the whole. Such behaviour is probably the current norm. The number of chats shows, real housewives of (name the city) and confrontation shows is bewildering.
The current spectacle of who supports the president's delusions and who does not would be laughable were it not so serious. How any free thinking politician can stand by and regurgitate that 'the election is not over' and that 'the president has every right to contest' etc.. in too ridiculous. You will note that it is stated that the president has the right to object, but no one says his objections will actually change the result of the election. So why carry on the farce and the pretence of support? Perhaps they are all scared by the guns carried by the numbers who blindly voted for him. Their belief in his falsehoods and deceptions is again breath-taking. The parallels with the Nazi takeover of Germany in the 1930's is frightening. Given the current state of play and the temperament of Mr Trump, I would not be surprised if he will attempt to use the military to stop any inauguration by anyone other than himself.”
The events of the 6th January 2021 where therefore not really surprising. Many warnings were given by many others, the most public and emotional given by the State of Georgia’s Republican electoral official, Gabriel Sterling, who, on the 1st December 2020 said: “It has got to stop, all of it, someone’s going to get shot, someone’s going to get killed, and it’s not right”.
The continuing effort to examine the events of a year ago, and the continuing denial and obstruction were perhaps just as predictable. The impending disaster of the November 2022 midterm elections will be the litmus test for the future of the American Public, and possibly the rest of the western world. A tough ask indeed.
I realise that my repetitive refrain about the American condition may seem, or rather, is tedious, but the lurch towards right wing extremism throughout the world is cause for concern. I also know that public service and putting oneself before the public, with a view to improve their lives and living conditions, by being a democratically elected representative is very difficult to achieve without some degree of passion and tenacity. Sadly, too often it is just pure arrogance and ambition, and ambition must be made of stern stuff. As a result we have the likes of Putin, Lukashenko, Min Aung Hlaing, Victor Orban etc…
On top of the US election in November, we have the French presidential elections beginning on the 10th of April 2022. So far, 31 candidates have declared. They include the popular Marine Le Pen of the far right wing Rassemblement national and Éric Zemmour of the extreme right Reconquête party. There are also a number of very left candidates. It is assumed that M. Macron will stand again and will get through the first round.
According to the current polls, in the second round, he will face either Marine Le Pen or Valérie Pécresse. Valérie is from Les Républicains, a centre right, liberal conservative party. She has a one percentage point lead over Le Pen in the polls and could become France’s first woman President. What is distressing though, is that according to the first round polls, Le Penn (16%) and Zemmour (13%) have 29% of the polls whilst the next highest is Macron at 25% with Pécresse on 17%. In any event, it would appear that just of a quarter of the French public support the political far to extreme right.
Whilst looking up the origins of the phrase ‘it’s a tough ask’, I came across a blog from New Zealand entitled ‘The Standard (version 2.0)’. It is at: https://thestandard.org.nz/
There is an article from October, 2018 entitled “Fighting for a just cause is empowering”. It was a reflection the passing of New Zealand Activist Penny Bright: https://thestandard.org.nz/fighting-for-a-just-cause-is-empowering/
What is your cause worth fighting for? I think it worth a read, and think of those people who have acted upon a bit of graffiti I saw on a wall near the Sorbonne in Paris “Qu'attendez-vous pour changer le monde?” or
“What are you waiting for to change the world?
That would be some kind of New Year’s resolution.
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