Friday 24 June 2016
Democracy Is Impressive
Two very surprising things happened in the last few months: US Republicans nominated Donald Trump as their candidate for President, and Britons voted to leave the EU. These events surprised me because they were fiercely opposed by the wealthy, politically powerful elites that are normally portrayed as running the world. I think it's amazing and inspiring that popular uprisings were able to overcome those forces. That fact should be celebrated, and recalled to refute defeatist rhetoric.
Unfortunately I can't celebrate the actual decisions themselves. I think that in the former case the people made a disastrous mistake, and in the latter case that remains to be seen. But the possibility that people will misuse their power is the price of democracy and all human freedom. I think it's a price worth paying.
Comments