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I follow the political developments in the US with grave concerns. Because to me, as the most mature democracy, it portends developments in democracies around the world.
The move by the Republican Party to oust Liz Cheney from her leadership position — for speaking the truth — indicates their choice for political survival over doing what is right. As Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ has been litigated and proven to be baseless in Courts of law, the only reason experienced politicians would continue to espouse them is that their base believes it.
Pandering to the electoral base to get elected is dangerous as the will of the crowd is not necessarily wise. When threatened, mob mentality takes over and behaviors are driven by emotions instead of logic. The Holocaust and The Salem Witch Trials are prime historical examples of how wrong mob mentality can get. And, the recent spikes in hate crimes and open bigotry is telling about the path the US is on.
To me, if society is to survive, nations need to elect people of character. People will always choose the harder right over the easier wrong because as Edmund Burke said: “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
This is not a game of cards, and democracy is at an inflection point. I pray that Singapore never goes down this path.
