Britain and America - the New Barbarians

I have been pondering the political situation in the UK, but have been struck by the parallels that exist between developments here and developments in the US. Politicians may not realise it but they are role models, particularly those at the top echelons of the system. They are responsible for establishing the tone and conduct of politics and their behaviour will generally define acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in matters such as speech and their treatment of other people, particularly opponents. However, their influence does not stop within the political system and extends into the wider society, acting as the benchmark for acceptable and unacceptable behaviour for society at large. Thus, if an occupant of, or a candidate for, the highest offices in the land considers that it’s OK to lie, slander, cheat and treat other people with no respect or dignity then that form of behaviour will spread throughout society as sure as the ripples in a pool expand outwards. If the ruling elite is openly discriminatory, racist, or exhibiting fascist tendencies, then that will give succour to and encourage, discrimination, racism and fascism.  

As a result of what we are witnessing in both the UK and the US, I have come to the conclusion that we are becoming disturbingly uncivilised. Civilisation is a very fragile thing and the uncivilised state is always lurking just below the surface of what is a very thin veneer of everyday behaviour as we have witnessed throughout history. It should give everyone pause for thought how fast pre-war Germany, one of the most cultured and civilised of nations, descended into barbarism. That descent was the result of unprincipled politicians whose behaviour was responsible for a barbarism that still numbs the mind, aided and abetted by an atrocious and unscrupulous media.

In Britain we have just recently witnessed the ruling elite, aided and abetted by an atrocious media, winning a referendum on Scottish independence by barefaced lies and the demonization of their opponents. Politicians in the modern world no longer see their opposition as opponents, they see them as the enemy, as people to be attacked, reviled and destroyed. This was followed up by an EU referendum that was conducted on the basis of lies and religious and racist intolerance. People around the world have all noted how uncivilised this campaign was and how it marked a new low in political behaviour by the ruling elite in Britain. It was not just the fact that lies were told; it was the barefaced and outrageous nature of it, without a shred of remorse being shown by those who were guilty. It was also the demonization of others, the poisonous hatred of foreigners and immigrants. Some of the worst propaganda was perpetrated by people who were married to foreigners and immigrants, or who were themselves immigrants or descended from immigrants. The British government’s official position now towards immigrants from the EU since the Brexit vote, regardless of how long they have lived here, is to use them as a bargaining mechanism in their negotiations with the EU. Thus, we can honestly say that the EU has been so demonised by the British elite that EU nationals are no longer regarded as human beings, but as ‘things’ to be used to blackmail the EU with. That is a result of elite speech and behaviour.

I am now watching a very similar scenario during coverage of the Republican Party convention and was struck by the hatred and deliberate malice generated towards Hilary Clinton with the delegates chanting “lock her up” in a manner that was honestly reminiscent of a Nuremburg Rally, and this is from people who routinely call themselves Christians and invoke Biblical language and references to justify their policies. The nearest likeness I have been reminded of with respect to Donald Trump is the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket. From this side of the Atlantic, it appears as if African-Americans are likewise demonised to the extent that they are regarded as fair game. I have written before about the long-term corrosive effect of the three-fifths clause in the original draft of the American Constitution. James Madison freely admitted that this clause referred to African-Americans as he wrote

 “Let the case of the slaves be considered as it is in truth a peculiar one. Let the compromising expedient of the Constitution be mutually adopted, which regards them as inhabitants but as debased by servitude below the level of free inhabitants; which regards the slave as divested of two-fifths of the man”.

 So, whilst the American Founding Fathers were appealing to natural law and divine authority in the drafting of their Declaration and Constitution, at the end of the day, in practice, the historical and social realities of the age became the dominant factors that are still reverberating today. Madison was a victim of his environment, but the people who still demonise the African-American today have no such excuse and are as guilty as those who are utilising the same tactics and rhetoric against immigrants in Britain. Such attitudes, speech and opinions have a long way to go before they run their course, with unforeseeable consequences. We are entering a dark and ugly chapter in history. You have been warned       

Your Servant
Doktor Kommirat