Jesus A. Garcia-Rojas
International Policy Analyst
To open a year is to stand in front of a huge white curtain. What will this new year bring us? What will be there, as we are weeding the leaves of the new almanac? Will it be better? Will it be worse? Many other things to be written on its surface, with our thoughts, decisions and actions; and the inevitable review of the year that has just ended. And what a year! … without adding my voice to those who call it “the worst year”, we cannot deny that 2020 has been a unique year. It is in these thoughts that I walk as I leave Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. Let us remember that in 1846 the United States of America was consecrated to the patronage of the Virgin Mary and, although there are many denominations in this country, Christianity is evidently in the majority. American priests, when proposed, give extraordinary sermons and this has been the case in today’s Mass. Then, in solitude, with my computer, some reflections:
- In general, we are witnessing a time when hope is valued more than truth. Even knowing or suspecting that this hope is false, without foundation or interest. Whoever proposes to make an effort, to work or study hard, becomes unpopular and is rejected. We would like to have everything without effort or with the least possible effort. The thirst for quick and easy victory is a lure of our times.
- The fake news spread exponentially through massive, superficial and manipulated information that runs through the social networks, makes our society fragile and alienated. Widely disseminated lies that we often wish to hear, and which we therefore do not subject to the slightest scrutiny or analysis, not even of common sense, end up having an effect of truth, even if they never are. What could be a great instrument for the diffusion of knowledge and the massification of education is becoming an ideological battleground where the fake news acts as a proxy for powers and interests that are often unavowable.
- Our society has largely abandoned the cult and loyalty to principles and commitments. Sometimes even to the fulfillment of the legal framework. If something is convenient, that something is above the previous argument. It is the alleged supremacy of the interests of the group. It is the weakening of coherence in public action. We are witnessing how high-profile personalities, some of whom were once admired and turned into references of political and social processes of great importance, are now discovered to be the real crooks they always were. They lacked greatness, a sense of history and abandoned their commitment to citizens and the law.
- The weakness of some, the disloyalty of others and the lies of many, have beneficiaries. They are the regimes far from democracy and justice, where their citizens are denied access to the most blatant manifestations of freedom. These repressive, authoritarian and criminal regimes, at this time are being successful in their survival. They have formed a “club”, they have strengthened themselves, aligning their chancelleries and prioritizing their interests and expansion. They have mutated into a new reality characterized by member states of different multilateral organizations, but also acting outside of them or from within, contaminating and distorting them. As a result, some members of the UN Human Rights Council have been accused of systematically violating these same human rights. States that are de facto associated with criminal organizations, from terrorism to drug and arms trafficking to human trafficking. States that provide shelter, protection, political cover and logistical support to these organizations on their territory. States whose leaders are unscrupulous and whose organizations or parties that serve as their parapet, know how to simulate the exercise of “participatory and citizen democracy” … even make elections that never lose even if any opinion poll gives them more than 85% rejection. These States, dynamic actors in geopolitics, have perfected a system of absolute control over their citizens and move their tentacles to expand and multiply outside their borders, without any squeamishness or delicacy. Such a select club has been expanding the number of its members. Finally, they are highly efficient regimes to sustain themselves in power, they optimize the scarce resources at their disposal and have no mercy when it comes to repressing, imprisoning, torturing and assassinating any internal opponent who represents a risk in the control of political power. But they are also highly effective in achieving their geopolitical objectives. It is obvious that their governments and their procedures are not subject to political debate or free elections. There is no risk of them losing because they appoint the electoral arbiter, buy the machines, hire the software and count the votes. They are not subject to legislative control, as they either eliminate Congress or buy defectors. They do not respect a constitutional and legal framework, as they appoint judges and magistrates. These regimes support each other with automatic solidarity, both to avoid sanctions and to protect themselves from international justice. They have become a political franchise that is being installed from country to country.
- In contrast, we should not be alarmed by the way in which the debate in the United States is being enriched by the latest presidential elections. Controversy and contradiction are a legitimate part of the democratic system, although some actors forget that the essence of democracy lies in accepting the possibility of losing. What is alarming is the evident presence of exogenous interests, especially members of that “club” mentioned above who are striving to hyper-polarize American society, seeking to weaken Americans’ confidence in their democracy and their faith in the justice system. From the outside, the sowing of hatred by some against others, Republicans against Democrats, whites against blacks or rich against poor, is encouraged. Although we leave the virus, the economic shock and the Chinese spy network in America in the dark, everything points to the fact that it is about weakening and then destroying. It is these pariah states of the “club” of the world that are promoting the idea that socialism has triumphed in the United States and that Trump represents the only and last chance of salvation, thus feeding internal confrontation. And so “they” win.
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