Beginning of the end of Western Democracy?

The hasty, arbitrary actions being taken by US President, Donald Trump on his return to the Presidency is having repercussions all around the world. The actions taken, mainly by Executive Order, are already causing tremendous economic, social and human catastrophe in the Middle East, Europe and even in the immediate neighbourhood of the United States, the western hemisphere. Already, experts are questioning the legality and constitutionality of some of the measures pronounced, while human rights advocates have loudly condemned them.Trump’s supporters are claiming that he is merely reshaping the political and economic architecture of his country and re-balancing relations between the USA and the rest of the world. Is it merely reshaping or are we witnessing the first flush of coldly calculated measures aimed at undermining democracy?

What is chilling about these early moves is that they come in the context in which the re-elected President has publicly raised the possibility of a third term in office, contrary to his country’s constitution. This followed public statements by him that he is prepared to be a dictator. Are these the first steps in that direction.The US President’s remarks with the leader of the genocide in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu by his side, about taking over the Gaza strip and instituting a new nafbka, expelling the Palestinian people from their homeland, have been met with worldwide condemnation. He even threatened that the USA would own the Gaza strip, referring to Gaza as “Hell”.

One astute commentator has remarked that if Gaza is Hell, then Trump must be Lucifer and Netenyahu, Beelzebub.

There are still Vincentians who do not understand what is happening or the implications for us all. What does

SVG have to do with it, they ask. Unfortunately, perhaps the most ready answers are being given in the threatened deportations of Vincentian migrants in the USA, and the disruptive withdrawal of the USA from important United Nations agencies.

But there is more.If we understand our history, we will know that what is taking place in Gaza, took place right on our soil. Two hundred and thirty years ago, the British colonisers did the same to our ancestors, Chatoyer’s people, after their military victory. There were mass killings, the expropriation of Garifuna and Kalinago lands. All this was not enough, for just as it is proposed to expel the Palestinian people from their homeland, British colonialism expelled thousands of the indigenous people of our country from their homeland. That is the significance of Balliceaux ,reminding us of genocide and ethnic cleansing. What is to stop him or others of his ilk doing the same in modern times?

Yes, one has a right to worry about the undermining of the much-touted “western democracy”. The selfish and heartless actions are not only ruining the lives of millions the world over; they represent a sharp lurch towards undemocratic rule and the institution of rule by a filthy rich minority.