The fact that the two playing fields differ vastly in size and quality of surface is of no consequence. Two players have chosen to skirt the tenets of the game, thumb their noses at the concept of sportsmanship, and adopt a similar framework of strategies in charting a course to their desired end game. So far, their apparent successes in testing the boundaries of democracy have only been exceeded by the significant lack of repudiation by their respective societies.
As Western society bears witness in trepidation, former US president Donald Trump continues to go from strength to strength in pursuit of a return to the Oval Office in November. The Republican Party’s leaders have seemingly yielded the reins of control of their organisation to his boorish personality and skittish behaviour. Trump’s moral conduct (or rather, lack of) the first time around clearly disqualifies him as being suitable for any level of public office, yet the institutions of society which are in place to curtail any such development continue to flex to facilitate his wild fantasies.
Here in Guyana, we are witnessing the escalating adoption of ‘Trump-like’ alternative realities and vile attacks on critics or challenges to the seat of power. The recent embarrassing responses – including blatant misrepresentations – to questions posed by the United Nations Human Rights Committee should serve as early public indications of the intended direction being sought. The unapologetic denial of the stark truth when confronted with it on an international stage is more than just a brazen insult to the forum and the entire Guyanese population, it’s a blatant display of arrogance fuelled, no doubt, by the confidence begat by oil wealth. The edicts generated since the three-day examination should be cause for more concern than the actual responses given to the UN committee since they speak of a society we know not. It is an ominous sign of things to come.
In addition to presenting alternative ‘truths’, the playbook strategy calls for the dispensation of fear. In his detailed portrait of Trump’s early years, “Fear” (2018), Bob Woodward prefaces the introduction with a quote from Trump in an interview with Woodward and Robert Costa on March 31, 2016, at the Old Post Office Pavilion, Trump International Hotel, Washington, DC. Trump, then a presidential candidate, said, “Real power is – I don’t even want to use the word – fear.” Trump’s application of fear mongering in his court cases, blatantly attacking judges, prosecutors and anyone in his path is fuelling the desired result that it’s all ‘a witch hunt’ and whipping his cult following into a frenzy. The creation and spread of the element of fear, by casting aspersions on the opposition’s statements and ‘unknown sources’ is still an effective divide and rule tool here.
The over-inflated sense of self-worth – ‘I am the smartest person in the room’ – only serves as fuel to this raging inferno. How has the system facilitated the ascent of these egotistical individuals to the seat of power? The answer lies not with the system but rather with the populace and its lack of adherence to advice proffered by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, “One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”
As we look around the world wondering where we are heading, we should take note of the likes of Isabel dos Santos, daughter of the former Angolan dictator Jose Eduardo dos Santos (1979 – 2017), who has accumulated an estimated US$2 billion fortune from one of Africa’s largest crude oil producers. Today, she lives in exile in Dubai. According to a detailed report published in January 2020 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, dos Santos, “made a fortune at the expense of the Angolan people.” Today, barred from entering the USA since December 2021, dos Santos is waging a futile battle to stop the Angolan government from seizing assets in her name in Portugal and England, among other places.
The end game is always the same, acquisition and retention of power, by any means necessary. The amalgam of alternative realities, fear mongering and inflated egos spawns horrible examples, like our neighbour’s, where the population is being put through the ringer to satisfy the wants and wishes of a select few. Autocracy creeps into societies like an incoming tide, slowly gathering momentum as it approaches the shoreline, then, its previously disregarded mounting fury suddenly erupts from a potential tropical storm to a full-scale tsunami. By the time it gets to this stage, it is usually too late, as the adage goes, “boat gon’ a falls can’t turn back.”
