‘Johnny come lately’ on US politics

On Wednesday 8th November at about 8am central African time, it emerged that Barack Obama had secured a second four year term in office. It was a very different scene from four years ago.Where there had been excitement and cheers of “Yes we can!” this time round sighs of relief and expressions of ‘thank God’ he did it were dominant. It has been a closely and sometimes bitterly fought election all the way through. Mitt Romney took the early lead with his ability to raise campaign funds at an unprecedented pace only made possible by his background in finance and his network of wealthy friends in high corporate places.For a nation that prides itself in the role of unofficial custodian of electoral democracy, the election was indeed a colourful exhibition of freedoms associated with a ‘government of the people by the people for the people.’One would argue that this is what the founding fathers envisioned when they set about creating a nation steeped in republicanism as opposed to the feudal and monarchical systems prevalent in Europe and other parts of the world at the time.For me the most fascinating thing about the election was how close the two candidates were till Election Day. Indeed the result hung in the balance over only 2 ‘swing states’ namely Ohio and Florida and once Obama secured Ohio, the job was done. The divide between liberals and Conservatives has polarised voters in US today more than ever before.The middle ground has thus thinned to the extent that no tolerance for independents seems to exist anymore. Gone are the days of Ross Perrot and Ralph Nader making ripples in the American presidential campaign sea before the eventual winner was declared.It must be remembered that Al Gore’s loss to George Bush junior in 2000 could be reasonably attributed to crucial liberal votes that went to Ralph Nader.What the average US observer might be unfamiliar with is the fact that both Obama’s Democrats and Romney’s Republicans trace their political roots in Thomas Jefferson’s aptly named Democratic –Republicans’ party!With this history in perspective, the current bitter exchanges can only viewed as being akin to a family feud. At the centre of the arguments is the emotional question of “who loves America more?”The real concern for any observer of US politics should be of a rather totally different nature.The French political theorist and historian Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1835 book “Democracy in America” made the argument that the majority in any political situation can justifiably oppress the minority in the name of democracy. He popularised the phrase “Tyranny of the majority” to capture what could possibly go wrong with assuming that ‘the majority are always right’This is what seems to be ill with America today.The two major political parties have crowded out independent and other political views to the extent that it’s almost pointless to be involved in politics if you aren’t either a democrat or a republican.Minority interests have resorted to dubious politicking in the form of lobbying. The ethics behind the machinations of individuals and organisations involved in political lobbying in the US are wrought with suspicion of corruption at all levels; from the moral to financial extremes.Such is the depth of this suspicion that many are candidate have sloganeered “Washington is broken” and claims of ‘going to clean up Washington’ abound in senatorial campaigns.Any system that requires continuous engineering from the outside for it to run properly, betrays a design flaw.Such is the case with the two-party politics of the United States. It was not meant to be that way. The war of independence was fought to achieve self determination for every citizen of America. The constitution was formulated along lines of equality of all men and women.Where did it all go so wrong? There is little solace in the truth. Nothing ever really went wrong with America.The early European ancestors of famous frontiers men like Daniel Boone that were responsible for uniting the country that we now call the United States sought adventure. They came to America as prospectors, merchants and to acquire land for plantation farming.With them they brought the ‘winner takes all’ mentality.What we see today in the ‘home of the free’ and ‘land of the brave’ is just history being perpetuated.This is why Obama’s middle ground views like universal Health Care and less tax for low income families make sense to you and me but only 50% of Americans! It seems rather odd and scary that one in two Americans does not take kindly to being his brother or Sister’s keeper!Ultimately, it’s not a choice and it’s better to plan for and accept it. The responsibility will be thrust on you when least expected. This applies as much to the individual as to the state.For all his flaws, Benito Mussolini the Italian fascist understood what the excesses of enterprise can mean for a state. In ‘Four speeches on the corporate state’ he asserted that, “a capitalist enterprise, when difficulties arise, throws itself like a dead weight into the state’s arms. It is then that state intervention begins and becomes more necessary. It is then that those who once ignored the state now seek it out anxiously.”His assertions on state intervention in failures of private enterprises could have as well been written in 2009 at the height of the recent financial crisis in the US.I am glad that in Rwanda, I can count on my brother and sister to look out for me.

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‘Johnny come lately’ on US politics