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In the writer’s perspective, the happenings in democracies around the world and the rise of populism are the result of post truth politics. Voters and politicians don’t play the game like it should (vote/campaigning based on facts and interest), but they mostly cater to feelings (see: placebo) than facts and logic based on reality. The deadlier consequences of this trend is expressed thoroughly by Voltaire in just a simple sentence below.
“Those who can make you believe in absurdities, can make you commit atrocities,”
People learn that World War II was the deadliest, they learn that World War II had the first essentially industrialized genocide of mankind, but what they don’t learn is the politics that led to the spark that blew in the deadliest conflict the world has ever seen. The rhetoric, the propaganda, the “you versus them” narrative, the conspiracy theories, and finally the seemingly almighty leader who can do no wrong. It’s only a matter of time before a wrong man, unfit for duty and with fatalistic beliefs, elected to office and starts a narrative of his/her perceived greatness, deceiving the population to follow him/her without any second thought, or hasn’t it been here already?
To safeguard democracy, politicians and their constituents need to change. Change, however vague the term is, can start even from the youngest. This can be practiced through education; instilling a culture of transparency and honesty in the next generation, avoiding the backlash of democracy as we have for now. Not only that, but there’s a need to change the education from a reward based one to a moral one, creating a generation that doesn’t only excel in the fields they’re in, but also safeguard the system guided by the moral they’re taught. The media should also be utilized effectively to safeguard democracy, eliminating perceived dangers to democracy through scoops available to the population at large.
Last, but not least, the writer would like to address the problem of democracy in Indonesia where post truth politics have just hit their onset (spread through politicians believing in lies, conspiracy theories, sectarian opposition, and even denial of the facts). Democracy is fragile, especially in a country with an autocratic past with different versions of military dictatorships. The fragility of democracy can be seen through recent events, where people can be arrested from being accused of “defamation” or even charges as vague as “misleading statements on social media”, especially against political figures. That’s, at least according to this writer, childish and has potential to be used by the wrong person elected to consolidate his power.
The logic is that defamation should not be sued by a person who’s already a public figure in the first place. That person, when elected, should already know that the risk of being a government official is that you’re open to criticism from the public you serve. You shouldn’t sue them for criticizing you because the public is the one elected you to power. That might be incomprehensible, at least for now, to the older section of the populace who’s used to being governed by autocratic leaders. If this isn’t reversed as soon as possible, there’s a chance that the current democracy, brought about by the reformists who paid for it with their life, would fall.
This is an Opinion , Written by Jeffaya A. Basen, Malang City, East Java, on September 25th, 2020 (***)
