It is precisely a week
since the world was shaken up with the news of Trump’s ascendancy to the White
House. A verbose writer like me had
remained dumb-founded for a week as the
news shattered my admiration and view of US as a land of freedom and democracy, as a
land ever ready to open its doors for outsiders, a land that allows a free
mingling of the four races- the whites, the browns, the yellows and the blacks,
a land known as the melting pot of different cultures, a land that prided in having ever so many
places of worship for all religions, a land that believed in gender and racial
equality, a land of plenty to feed and accommodate
any number of people who throng to its shores. I had visited US three times-
1985, 1996 and 2012 and my views about US remained the same- conforming to my ideal
and romantic vision of US, ( slightly hyperbolic, though not really off the mark).
2016 has shattered my
dreams of United States of America as the United States of the world. America
has ceased to be the America for a lot of people like me who have experienced and
enjoyed the warmth and friendliness of American people. It had been a big united
country with a big heart. But today it has been divided vertically and
horizontally. The horizontal cleft is between the right and the left wing and
the vertical divide between acceptance and rejection of outsiders. America
known for its fairness and tolerance, has now moved towards insularity and
bigotry. The open mindedness has given way to narrow mindedness. What has
disappointed everybody is US is no longer the only hope of the world when there
is a sudden upsurge of radical nationalism and right wing majority all around
the world. Leaders have come with a slogan of “make it in their native land ”
which has sent a wrong signal to many that they now been deprived of their rightful inheritance of
land and wealth that they had mindlessly shared with the immigrants from other
countries. Brexit started it and one noticed the slow and steady emergence of
right wing parties all over Europe. The refugee crisis began in 2015, when a
rising number of refugees and migrants from Western
and South Asia,
Africa,
and the Western Balkans sought asylum in European Union.
The top three nationalities of refugees crossing one million between January
2015 and March 2016 were Syrian (46.7%), Afghan
(20.9%) and Iraqi
(9.4%). The migrant crisis, sluggish economic growth and growing disillusionment
with the European Union, have brought out a surge in right-wing parties in a
growing number of European countries. They all swear by nationalist sentiments
promising their own countrymen sure places in the job market. There is the authoritarian
rule in countries like Hungary , economic protectionism in France, and extreme anti immigrants views dominating the
right wing manifesto. The far-right Alternative for Germany
party, started three years ago as a protest movement against the euro currency, and has won up to 25
percent of the vote in German state elections in March, challenging Germany’s
consensus-driven politics
The US elections have continued this trend. It has followed a pattern
similar to that in India where a fervent “make in India’ under the banner of
nationalism has made the right wing party attractive to the voters. India is
slowly veering towards a cult leadership and there is increasing evidence of silencing
freedom of expression and controlling the media. What is noticeable is a
gradual move from Globalism towards nationalism, from the last few decades of
the hegemonic ideology of neo-liberalism to right wing conservatism, from
economic populism to economic liberalism, from collective humanity to
individual national identity. Donald Trump’s victory
in the US presidential election confirms the ascendance of conservative
politics in the world. Putin in Russia, Erodgan in Turkey Netanyahu in Israel, Theresa May in UK after Brexit, the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt and closer home , Modi in India have embraced the
Conservative ideology which they coat with a nationalistic and chauvinistic fervor.
There is the fear of rising anti-minority, majoritarian rule, and a new social
contract with a new concept of citizenship. as envisioned by Theresa May. She spoke of a
spirit of citizenship that would entail “a commitment to the men and
women who live around you, who work for you, who buy the goods and services you
sell”. That spirit, she said, “means recognising the social contract that says
you train up local young people before you take on cheap labour from overseas”.
May decried people in positions of power who behaved “as though they have more
in common with international elites than with the people down the road, the
people they employ, the people they pass in the street.” And to reiterate the
nativist point, May said, “If you believe you’re a citizen of the world, you’re
a citizen of nowhere. You don’t understand what the very word ‘citizenship’
means.”(from Hindustan Times)
Even more daring is the election of a
President in US who lacks civility of language, respect for the other gender, and
uses bluster to bolster his stand. He is
a stark contrast to Obama , replacing his genteel and humane words by sheer demagoguery
with an appeal to people by playing on their emotions and prejudices rather than
on their rational side. Trump’s rise is a return to Mccarthyism with its red
scare or fear of communism- though it is difficult to say if Trump understands
the political concepts such as socialism and communism. Trump seems more an
opportunist than a zealot. He talks not from his head or heart but from gross selfishness
and insensitivity. He has cleverly exploited the racial and ethnic divide in
the country and appealed to the natives that he is the champion of their cause.
The world has to accept him just as India and the rest of the world has
accepted Modi whose pre election promises are well past the utility for his
personal gain. The world is the best game changer and so it is now the turn of
the right wingers and their chauvinism that have gained favour with the public.
But the difference that cannot be overlooked is the means employed in ringing
the change. Political suavity is dubbed as artificial sweetener. Bluster and
bombast are regarded as natural honesty. Populism is shown as bankrupt while individualism
is the new currency to grow prosperous. Multiculturalism is an impossible
concept while identity culturalism is an attainable goal. Citizen of the world
is dismissed as a vacuous entity; citizen of native land is a fulfilling certainty. It is a return to cult leadership from
collective rule. The Islamic Caliphate has welcomed Trump. So as Putin, while
the Chinese core leader has sought Trump’s ascent to help him restore American glory.
Is this the beginning of a new American
dream? Will this be just a dream or will it become an American nightmare? Is it
going to be trumps up for American future and trumps down for humanity? Will
the world recall Seneca’s ideal of a citizen who cultivates humanity, who
scrutinizes tradition critically and who respects the ability to reason?
Time will tell.
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