Interesting points raised in the interview but they’re more of narrow/repeated narrative which is this idea of progressive/liberal vs. conservative/alt. right worldview. Beyond this legitimate divide and it’s variants in terms of political parties there are flaws within the political eco system that many agree on but no wants to really talk about despite them being consequential to genuine democratic governance because this translates to political cost no one wants to carry. Here are some in my opinion;
- Financial & Political Corruption/Cronyism vs. Accountability/Credentials
- Lack of effective public scrutiny of candidates to lead on issues, track record and style (the UK being the star of the show in this category – an archaic mode of governance that needs to be scrapped in my view).
- Suspect foreign and/or non-secular allegiances at every level of the political establishment
- Undemocratic yet legal tools for leaders allowing them to impose policy irrespective of other opinions/views
- Lack of accountability for disinformation/lies within the political establishment itself.
- Interference of unelected lobbyist/donors (foreign/national) into policy formulation.
- The politicizing of non-partisan government institutions; ones that require complete independence from government in the way they are managed to protect them from unduly interference.
- Once elections are concluded there is little in the way of direct public oversight/scrutiny on decisions made however these may affect people across the nation directly or indirectly – so we’re essentially shackled/having little if any on political decisions however consequential/immediate the effects may be on us – until of course the next election cycle. That can’t be right, can it?!
There is however a national cost that has an immediate impact that cannot be carried over which is the internal blame game for policies (or lack thereof) that completely ignores the original/fundamental flaws mentioned above. In other words flaws continue to fester and culprits breath a sigh of relief that the focus is finally shifted – as usual – away from them and their cronies and we can all live happily ever after when our democracy, national security and our unity just took another nasty hit while our divisions continue to grow ever wider/steeper. Talk about adversaries trying to harm us; we’re doing a better job of that than in their wildest dreams thanks very much. So the suggestion from this end is quite simple; STOP preaching VALUES and start FIXING not PATCHING cracks before the ship sinks. Once this happens we won’t need to worry about Trump or any other extremist ideologues because we’ve cutoff their source of oxygen; at that point we can begin to have genuine/realistic debates without the distracting/destructive noise and allow the new generation to build a much brighter future than the predictions we see today. Am I being a dreamer rather than a realist; well, it’s a judgement call so take your pick!
Just a thought!