American Democracy Faces a Serious Test

Published in Merit Times
(Taiwan) on 29 April 2023
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Jennifer Sampson. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
Global democratic politics have turned increasingly chaotic in recent years. Countries with less developed democracies have retrogressed, and the old democracies are in disarray. The U.S., regarded as a model of democracy, has repeatedly veered off course politically. Donald Trump, the most prominent destroyer of democracy, has come roaring back, threatening a return to the White House.

While President Joe Biden recently announced he is running for reelection, Trump, who lost the last presidential election, announced his candidacy for reelection a while back. Facing a number of criminal prosecutions, he has successfully conveyed the image of a victim, and support for him is climbing. As of now, he already has a substantial lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his most likely challenger from within the Republican Party, which has energized Trump and his supporters and worried people knowledgeable about the race.

While many polls show that as many as 60% to 70% of the population do not want to see Trump reelected, 95% don’t want a rematch between Biden and Trump, two old men in or near their 80s. Can America, known as a country where the people have the final say, bear to have Trump, someone who is out to destroy democracy, as the Republican presidential nominee? Will Trump, who was twice impeached by Congress and is currently under investigation by the Justice Department, sweep aside the Democrats and once more enter the White House in 2024? I’m afraid it’s hard to be optimistic.

Trump’s comeback is sorely testing the defenses of American democracy. It also is letting the world see clearly the extent to which American populism can go. Currently, it looks like Trump can win the primaries and make it to the general election. Nearly 40% of hard-core Republican voters support his campaign, and he is adept at beguiling people and creating momentum with his clever words.

Trump’s comeback obviously is not only about continuing to “make America great again,” it is also an expression of his resolute desire for revenge. Unwilling to accept defeat in the last election, he incited supporters to force their way into Congress, hoping to block the ballot confirmation process. In response, Congress conducted an investigation into the events of Jan. 6, 2021, in an effort to find those who could be held accountable. Will the public support the effort to defend American democracy? Or will voters determine that Trump should bear no responsibility for inciting a riot? If Trump once more has the support to carry him back to the White House, does that mean that the congressional investigation and effort to hold him accountable are moot and unreasonable? Surely it doesn’t mean that whoever loses an election can incite voters to riot in Congress. Has the U.S. really entered a post-truth era, where the issue is not whether something is true or false, but what side you belong to? Can America’s electoral system maintain its authority, can we maintain the standing of rule of law?

While democracy has many indelible advantages, it also has many vulnerabilities that can be exploited — something at which Trump has proved to be a master. He has never adhered to any procedural norms or moral principles. Since he is unburdened by ideology, there were no taboos regarding a democratic rule of law he wouldn’t break and no limit to what he would do. He harnessed the resentment that certain Americans harbor against reality, and the anger of white men in particular, to pander and instigate, pushing populism to the extreme. Republicans, Trump supporters, the media and the entire country have been hijacked by him. Under his malicious manipulation, American society has split into fiercely opposing groups of those who support him and those who don’t, exacerbating existing political divisions. The spirit of tolerance and compromise inherent in a democracy have disappeared. In the view of many people around the world, a great America no longer exists, and faith in the universal values of democracy has been shaken.

Under the manipulation of Trump supporters and his party, American democracy has become increasingly distorted. Social media has been reduced to a tool that tears society apart. The media, which should promote truth and objectivity, has become polarized in a competition over the market and the promotion of ideologies. From the sources and perspectives that reporters use to the opinions and speeches, content bends to accommodate and please viewers who hold a particular point of view. As a result, the same kinds of viewpoints are embellished and magnified for one group of people, and those who encounter media representing different perspectives split into two extremes, severely worsening the divide between political groups.

The final judgment by the American people on whether Trump returns to the White House is a test of whether American democracy still has the ability to self-correct and the strength to resist viral attack. The world will have to wait and see.


社論--美國民主面臨嚴峻考驗

近年全球民主政治亂象叢生,民主後進國出現倒退趨勢,老牌民主國紊亂不堪,而被視為民主典範的美國,政治一再荒腔走板,最受矚目的民主法治破壞者川普,如今來勢洶洶,大有反攻白宮之勢。

拜登總統日前宣布競選連任,上次被他打敗的川普早已宣布復出參選總統,且經過幾個刑事案件的侍候之後,他居然成功建立被迫害者形象,支持度一再攀高,目前已大幅領先黨內最可能挑戰他的佛羅里達州長德桑提斯;川普及其支持者為之雀躍,有識之士為之憂慮。

多項民調雖然顯示,高達六、七成民眾不希望看到他再選,更有九成五的民眾不希望看到拜登、川普兩個八旬上下的老人再戰一回;不過,號稱人民做主的美國,能否抵擋共和黨提名破壞民主壞事幹絕的川普?一再被國會彈劾又被司法追訴的川普,二○二四年會橫掃民主黨而再入主白宮嗎?恐怕難以樂觀。

川普的復出嚴峻考驗美國的民主防線,也讓世人看清美國的民粹政治能走得多遠。目前看來,川普可以通過初選,進入賓士法尼亞大道上競逐白宮大位。目前有近四成共和黨鐵桿選民力挺他出馬,他又擅長巧言營造聲勢。

川普復出當然不只是為了接續他的「讓美國再次偉大」大計,更是他一心一意要復仇的心志表現。他上次選舉不甘落敗,煽動支持者攻入國會,企圖阻擋確認當選人程序,國會為此對暴亂進行調查與究責,民眾對國會護衛美國民主之舉埋單嗎?選民是否認定川普煽動暴民不需負任何責任?如果川普再被擁戴重回白宮,是否代表國會的調查與究責既不合法也不合理?難道總統選輸後可鼓動選民衝進國會大肆暴亂?美國是否真的進入後真相時代,沒有真實與否的問題,只有立場歸屬的問題?美國的選舉制度權威以及法治威信能否再維繫?

民主有其無可抹煞的優點,但也有許多漏洞可鑽,川普是此中高手。他從不遵奉任何行事原則與道德規範,甚至沒有意識形態的包袱,破壞民主法治無所禁忌,行事手段沒有下限。他利用美國部分民眾對現實的怨恨,尤其是老白男的憤怒情緒,迎合煽動無所不用其極,將民粹主義推到極致。共和黨、川粉、媒體或整個國家都被他綁架,在他的狠毒操弄之下,美國社會分裂成支持或反對他的兩個激烈對立群體,政治對立更加嚴重,民主該有的容忍與妥協精神蕩然無存,致使許多世人眼中的偉大美國已不復存在,更動撼了世人對民主為普世價值的信心。

美國民主在川普之流政客與政黨操弄之下,愈來愈扭曲變形,社交媒體淪為撕裂社會的傳播工具,本應忠於事實、客觀取材的大眾媒體,為爭奪市場或是推廣其所認同的意識形態,也形成兩極分化,從報導的取材、角度到觀點與言論,多傾向與遷就甚至取悅有特定立場受眾的內容,以致於同質化訊息在群體內部被渲染放大,接觸不同立場媒體的民眾被切割成兩個極端,政治對峙從而更加嚴重。

美國民眾對於川普重回白宮的最終審定,考驗美國民主是否仍有自我矯正的功能,是否還有抵禦病毒攻擊的能力。且讓世人拭目以待。

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