Engaging Proactively with the Risk of World Misleadership
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 3 Oct 2016
Anthony Judge – TRANSCEND Media Service
Trump vs Clinton and the potential of carpe diem in the democratic process?
(Inspired by commentary on the first televised Clinton-Trump debate 26 Sep 2016)
Introduction
The future will no doubt be appalled by the current presidential campaign in the USA through which the leader of the world’s superpower will emerge. But by what exactly might the future be appalled?
For many countries the American electoral process is a mess and a tasteless show, with every possibility that it will be rigged in some way, at least in some locations (Ronald Bailey, Voter ID and Rigged Elections, Reason.com, 12 August 2016; Roger Stone, Can the 2016 election be rigged? You bet, The Hill, 16 August 2016; Spencer Gundert, Hillary Clinton and Electoral Fraud, 28 April 2016; Richard Stallman, Republicans actions to systematically rig elections, 2016).
This would all be seen as a mockery of the democratic process — or claimed as the epitome of what it stands for in reality. Is the the pretence of standing for something the only thing for which the world’s greatest democracy stands? On the other hand many countries currently experience similar distortions of the ideals of democratic election and may realize that their hopes for better governance are likely to be frustrated.
The media, most especially the American media, has embroiled itself fully in the presidential campaign. This started with systematic mockery of Donald Trump. Following his surprising success in gaining the Republican nomination, the preoccupation has been with details, savoured and framed as indicative and symbolic, by which his candidature could be condemned as the epitome of unreason. Only the points made by Hillary Clinton are now to be framed as reasonable and of presidential calibre.
What to think? What might the future think?
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