Election as a time for reflection

Many of us were holding our breaths over the very close presidential race in the United States, wondering if it would be four more years of Donald Trump or a new era under Joe Biden. However, as results from mail-in ballots in Michigan and Wisconsin began to be counted, it seemed more likely that America might have a new president. And now it has.

This brought to mind some reflections on politics. One is that the position of leadership is not forever. America under Trump seems to have normalized the lack of social and political civility. Lies are glorified. Deeply personal insults are cheered on. People engage in intellectual gymnastics to justify policies that are morally and objectively harmful to the public. As election results in the Midwest had shown a slim but decisive Democrat win, President Trump is facing the fact that his four years in the White House are over. Thus, he resorts to all kinds of distraction and false claims to question the legitimacy of the electoral process, particularly taking aim at mail-in ballots. Trump’s actions are mainly fueled by the fear that numerous cases will be filed against him. Once he loses the presidency, he is no longer granted immunity from these lawsuits.

This brings us to the second point—that justice will find a way to put all of us, including our leaders, into account for our actions. Efforts have been made to install conservative justices in the US Supreme Court to protect Trump’s interest, but even that may not be enough to shield him from prosecution should there be strong evidence against him.

As the Philippines approaches the 2022 elections, we have time to think about our own country’s leadership. Those who think they can do anything while in power will be confronted by the same finite reality. Sure, there is a chance that they may cling on to power for a few more years. But democratic leaderships in this country have a beginning and an end. Nothing is forever. And while our high-ranking officials often get away with crimes committed while in office, and our judiciary may not be the most effective, these should not stop us from using judicial mechanisms to demand not just justice in terms of play of words, rhetoric, and strategies, but justice in its true substance.

The close of election means not just a celebration of victory or consoling those who lost. For us voters, it is a time to reflect on the end, continuation, or the beginning of visions and actions that we have collectively chosen for our society—whether or not they are mindful of the lessons of the past, attuned to the needs of the present, and responsible for their consequences in the future. For politicians, it ought to be the time to reflect on the legacy they want to leave to society, and to feel the weight of responsibility they carry in charting the present and the future of their fellow citizens.

The waves of populist leaderships across the world widened the polar extremes in our respective societies. We do not know if the end of the Trump administration also signals the closing to this chapter in history. But what is certain is that human civilization flourishes when people set their eyes not on the “what is,” but on the “what should be.” The US elections would hopefully help us reflect on whether, in two years’ time, we would resign ourselves to accepting our current political environment, or use whatever power we have to heal our deeply divided nation and commit to a new political vision for our country.

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Ron Jay P. Dangcalan is a political economist and assistant professor at the Department of Social Development Services, College of Human Ecology, UP Los Baños.