‘If two men say they’re Jesus, one of them must be wrong’.

Where there is no vision, the people perish. —Proverbs 29:18

You would have to be living under a rock to not have had some exposure to the recent experience of what our American cousins described as their presidential election. At the time of writing, a week after the event, I’m still not sure who the official winner is supposed to be. 

Our media overflows with tales of election fraud, ‘fake news’ and people rising from the grave to cast their votes.  This outrage is ‘balanced’ by op-ed’s outlining a possible coup following the incumbent’s dogged refusal to play by the rules and simply concede. There’s even the odd reference to civil war. In this background, the commentariat relishes the apparent decline of American exceptionalism. 

All of this is not doubt hyperbole. Content is king as they say in marketing circles; but the bastion of freedom and democracy has never before seemed so fragile. Can it really be so? How much of what we see and read is indeed true? We have unprecedented access to information about current events, not to mention what our leaders are up to. And still none of us really have the foggiest as to what is going on.

And while many would indeed blame the media, Uncle Rupert particularly, I suspect there’s a more fundamental reason for this apparent dichotomy. Pundits are astounded at the inaccuracy of the polls. The absence of the so called ‘blue wave’ which was to sweep Trump from office created great confusion among the liberals and conservatives alike. How could the ‘Mango Mussolini’ have garnered so much support after the last 4 years’ shenanigans?

Therein lies the problem. It is painfully apparent that the establishment has lost touch with those it purportedly represents. In a two-horse race, the fact some do not support the winner does not necessarily mean they support the loser. But the game is rigged and so that’s how it appears. Trump represents the complete dissatisfaction with the lack of leadership increasingly apparent in all western democracies.

The increasing polarization of society, encouraged and facilitated (but not caused) by the media, is a race to the bottom. Where are the politicians that focus on forming, developing, and implementing policies that build our nations and their people? That unite and make us stronger, and dare I say it, happier? 

Our fearless leaders, instead, operate much like bungling parents – torn between each of their expectant children and the sibling rivalry. Trying ever so hard to be their charge’s friend they fail all the while to properly fulfil their role. Never mind how the child turns out in the long run.

Of course, the cynical and power hungry will take advantage of this vacuum of leadership. Divide and conquer is the rule, and nothing reflects that maxim better than modern western politics. Ultimately though, Mark Knopfler summed it all up far better than I ever could.