Populist or President… ?

Donald Trump is significantly taking us backward.With the growing centralization of wealth and political influence within the hands of greedy socially detached billionaires. By doing this he significantly undermines not only the virtue of democracy but many government institutions as well. He does this by placing figures like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos on pedestals and this could jeopardize American democracy, leaving behind a mess that none of them will clean up.  He has completely rung out the towel of democracy, while also  garnering the support of people who his oligarchical policies directly affect. By implementing these measures he fuels populist ideas that threaten all of our voices. 

 Everyday my beliefs are challenged as it pertains to politics.  It does not make me feel hopeful or energized but, dejected and scared about the state of our democracy. However, this makes me reflect  on what it actually means to watch in real time an eroding democracy. I belive that this mental challenge is important. Though I completely disagree with everything he stands for,  he is integral in how we analyze political trends and create ideals on what a democracy is and what its gradual implosion could look like. 

    When we began to discuss democratic erosion, populism, and even oligarchies, I could only ever think of Donald Trump and his cabinet of billionaires. It is still so surreal to belive the state of American politics, and this goes for both sides of the aisle. On March 6 Elon Musk, Tesla founder, and multi billionaire, attended a cabinet meeting as a member. Why?  He has become  the one leading efforts in the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting initiative. At first glance perhaps some may belive a billionaire could help mitigate cost, but at the expense of who?  Though, it should be understood that in order to be as wealthy as he is, at some point you would have to have undermined the economic system and used it to your own  advantage at the expense of those without the means he possesses. This goes hand and hand with a term we have examined throughout this course. Populism. 

 I essentially began this course with a rough definition of what populism was but by engaging in readings and further examining our political climate I realized that our President may in fact be a Populist leader. This push for division and this “ us or them” mindset is what ideals such as these are built upon. By doing this he feeds only his supporters while simultaneously weakening others faith in the role of our democracy and the institution as a whole. Populist leaders tend to create this blown up image of themselves to their supporters. They want to seem relatable and just as upset, if not more at the state of our democracy. So, they  may coin themselves as a “champion of the people”. However , through his actions we see that is not usually the case. With this he has skewed the way in which we view or perceive democratic accountability. We enter an odd paradox with this type of leader. On one hand,  they garner support by being a champion of the people, but they constantly create polices and surround themselves with figures who work very hard to undermine those rights. Especially, as it relates to leaders. With this comes democratic erosion. It is gradual at times but when it happens you can usually feel something is significantly different. 

Democratic erosion does happen overnight. It is a gradual change that happens over time and is fueled by the greed and political ambition of leaders and the distrust and weakness of governments checks and balances. For a lot of us this can be hard to understand or identify until the damage has already been done and the impact irreversible. For others, they are placed with the burden of knowing that something is happening and those who are the most at risk refuse to acknowledge this occurrence.  

  We must be able to identify polarization when it is hyping right in our faces. The first course of action would need to be for the public to understand and identify this. Without this the cycle will continue and worsen over time. With this awareness comes a call to action that encourages them to work with the people and for them instead of obviously against their livelihood and their basic needs. We can not continue to move how we did in the past waiting for things to happen to change. The elements of previous political  revolts are important but we are living in a time where these things are unprecedented and this calls for unique and unprecedented ways of action. 

As we see this oligarchal rise we must first accept that this is happening right in front of our faces and affecting our daily lives and potentially the future generation of those who are most susceptible to the influence of these individuals. This will actively jeopardize democracy, placing us in a space of uncertainty and risk. Maintaining the transparency of our democratic system and infrastructure is critical. Especially while Donald Trump’s parade of ignorance and hate is continually snowballing and garnering support. The brunt of this, in my opinion, should fall on those who placed their vote for him without considering their own place in this conversation.