A World Led by Manchildren, Thanks to Stupid Voters—Where is the Uproar?
People around the world bit their nails and hoped Americans wouldn't vote for a flailing, incompetent and narcissistic madman. Americans voted for the madman.
Millions of American made sure that the destiny of Ukraine and Palestine, the world economy, the climate and much more depend on a maniac who was called the dumbest student ever by his teacher.
We cannot have it like this.
The election of Trump is the worst example, but far from the only one.
People vote for maniac manchildren — again and again.
In Brazil, a pastor and Bolsonaro supporter told the BBC that “We'll vote for Bolsonaro because he is God.”
In Hungary, people may not believe Victor Orban is god, but they have voted four times for that egg-shaped Putin-enabler eager to turn down democracy and enrich himself. In Slovakia, a similar autocratic and corrupt Putin-sucker became prime minister for the third time. In Georgia, a pro-Russian party claimed victory for the fourth time.
In Turkey, Erdogan envisions a new Ottoman empire while strengthening his one-man rule. He has won three presidential elections, and before that, he was elected prime minister three times.
In Romania, a Russian puppet may win the coming elections.
Then we have, of course, Netanyahu in Israel and the late Berlusconi in Italy.
We cannot have it like this.
We cannot have a world where people who are lucky enough to have the right to vote use that right to put manchildren in power.
We cannot have a world where people who are lucky enough to have the right to vote use that right to put manchildren in power.
Some of these manchildren are more radioactive than others. What they all have in common is that they only care about themselves. “Me First” and “Make Me Great Forever.”
Yes I know, many in not-so-democratic countries are pressured to vote for a certain candidate. They are threatened with unemployment, the withdrawal of benefits or even violence. Massive election fraud also takes place. But that is usually not the case the first time these children run for office. The window of opportunity to reject them may be open for years.
Too many voters don’t take that opportunity.
Russians elected Putin again and again until they had no say about anything any more.
We must stop accepting that voters are that stupid.
Stupid voters
I am not using the word stupid to mock people, that does not lead anywhere. It is like all those YouTube videos interviewing Trump voters or Brexit supporters to show how stupid they are. Those videos certainly have helped a lot.
By stupid I mean ignorant, lazy, short-sighted and easy to fool. All of which we can do something about.
And what should we do?
First of all, we need to agree that this is a problem on a scale with obesity, drug-addiction and every other public health issue combined. In fact, it is worse, since stupid voters affect everyone, and every sector, and every corner of society.
This is how bad it is
Let’s compare stupid voters to another societal problem to show you what I mean.
Almost every country demands a licence to drive a car, and in most countries, you need to pass a driving test and a theory test. Driving licences were introduced at the beginning of the 20th century due to the huge number of traffic fatalities.
In other words, societies realised early on they had a huge problem. “People drive and cause fatalities. We cannot have it like that. We must do something. We must ensure that people have the necessary skills to drive.”
Still, as citizens, we have the right to vote, and to make decisions about health care, education, policing, electricity, transport, air quality, trade, housing, food, water or anything that affects us every day, now and in the future. And we can do that without any training or proof of our skills—whatsoever.
Still, as citizens, we have the right to vote, and to make decisions about health care, education, policing, electricity, transport, air quality, trade, housing, food, water or anything that affects us every day, now and in the future. And we can do that without any training or proof of our skills—whatsoever.
Where is the uproar?
Nonetheless, the media and public debate treat elections as if voters, by and large, know what they are doing. Despite the fact that everybody knows that stupid, uninformed voters are as commonplace and as old a problem as democracy itself.
“Here is a ranking of the issues voters are most concerned about.”
It’s like drunk drivers demanding wider lanes and fewer curves.
So where is the uproar? Where are the campaigns for “Better Voters”?
In America, I noticed some mumbling about better education and more critical thinking the last time Trump won. In other countries, there isn’t even a mumbling. At least nothing that reaches major news channels.
In Britain, “What is the EU?” was one of the most popular search terms after the Brexit referendum. Apparently, millions didn’t have a clue what they voted for. And that would have been equally worrisome if the majority had voted to remain in the European Union.
Still, no uproar or fierce debate about it.
But we cannot have just any kind of debate about the problem of stupid voters. We need to have the right focus.
The problem isn’t Trump or Orban
We need to stop focusing on the “wrong” leaders or parties.
The core problem is not the single candidate or political party. If we hadn’t had Trump and Orban we could have had Crump and Gorban.
Educating voters is not about making people refrain from voting for him, her or them.
Educating voters is teaching them how to make sound judgements. To consider longer-term consequences. To realise there are no quick fixes. To spot obvious lies.
To accept that no one is going to save you.
Educating voters is making them ask “If I were to hire these candidates, what would I need to find out about them?” What background checks and references? “What questions would I ask them at a job interview?”
And no matter how bombarded with fake news, upset about immigration, despairing over the cost of living or being told by their priest who to vote for, educated voters would not have voted for Trump.
And no matter how bombarded with fake news, upset about immigration, despairing over the cost of living or being told by their priest who to vote for, educated voters would not have voted for Trump.
Furthermore, he, Orban, Fico, Bolsonaro and all the others would not have run for office because they knew they wouldn’t stand a chance.
Stupid voting is as old as Socrates, but it’s solvable.
It is time we, who want to be responsible citizens, take a deep breath and shout out in unison:
“We cannot have it like this”
We cannot let the well-being of our societies be dependent on those who cast their vote for whoever makes them feel good.
We cannot let our common future be decided by people who vote for something they have no clue about.
We cannot accept that millions of voters let themselves be fooled by me-me-me idiots. Whatever political flavour these idiots claim to have.
What we have to accept is that in a democracy we will find heaps of me-me-me idiots who want power and admiration. Freedom also means freedom for idiots. The solution is not to lock them up, but to stop enabling them. To not give children power they cannot handle. Power they use to plunder, dismantle and desolate instead of making our home—the planet—a better place to live for all of us.
Thanks for reading!
