All democracies are the same.
For years, we have been subject to powerful PR narratives about the United States of America. We have heard endless talk about how America is the land of the free, a place where democracy is at its finest and works as a template for all countries across the world.
The rest of the world bristled as the US State Department issued thinly veiled reprimands to other countries about their own electoral processes, taking the moral high ground. However, this month’s election season and, in fact, the past four years have exposed the United States for what it truly is: an ordinary democracy, beset with its own problems, and definitely not unique in the world.
We have watched as the US propped up at its helm an administration which, in the words of the writer and publisher Anand Giridharadas, ran a “gaslighting operation … matched only by its hostility and deadly incompetence”. We have also witnessed some parts of the US media, once an ideal of exemplary reporting, lapsing into the role of propaganda houses for both sides of the political aisle.
Room for only one option
As the country approached the 3 November elections, tensions were high. Shops were boarded up and the country’s weak electoral system came under a barrage of lawsuits over mail-in ballots, shortages of staff at polling stations and a host of other difficulties.
Indeed, after President Trump called for a halt to the vote-counting, the head of an international election observer mission accused the incumbent president of “gross abuse of office”. Trump has refused to concede the election even though all final and provisional results show that he has lost.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Yes, an electoral contest in the world’s self-described bastion of democracy has been turned into what many in the global media would call a “typical third world election”, and it is shocking to see.
I've heard preachers comparing the US system (Executive, Legislature & Judiciary) to the "Holy Trinity".
As I grew older, I realized that the US system just had better marketing than other democratic systems. It is just as flawed as other democratic systems.
— Onye Nkuzi (@cchukudebelu) November 10, 2020
More alarmingly, contrary to the political philosopher Francis Fukayama’s declaration that there had been a “total exhaustion of viable systematic alternatives to Western liberalism” at the end of the Cold War, there seems to be an increasing tussle between authoritarianism and democracy.
Black man’s burden
Ghanaians should take one fundamental lesson from this: we have no one but ourselves to protect the democracy we have. We cannot count on countries such as the US to be our guardian angel because, frankly, they are beset by their own problems.
This is no time to rest on our oars. We as Ghanaian citizens, especially the professional middle and upper classes, have to take up the task of developing a culture of holding our leaders accountable for their actions. We must participate more actively on the political front. The days of shrugging our shoulders must end. We must take things into our hands and start active work.
Actions such as critiquing our governments on social media, crowdfunding for preferred political candidates, volunteering for political education tours of the country, even running for local office, would go a long way towards making our democracy a better one. If we do not, we will wake up one day to a society where our leaders act without any care for their citizens.
It will be difficult to do, yes. It will sap our energy and take up time we could spend on profitable pursuits. It will seem pointless at times. And yet it is imperative to pay heed to what Ken Saro-Wiwa wrote in the manifesto of the Ogoni Development Association, “We must remember that no matter the system of government, unless a people take their own destiny into their own hands, no improvement will come to them.”
I certainly hope we take our own destiny into our hands.
Deo volente!
Barima Peprah-Agyemang
Barima Peprah-Agyemang is a writer and co-founder of Akensie, a newly released Ghanaian trivia app available now through the App Store. He resides primarily in Sunyani in his native Bono Region
* Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online.
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#asaaseradio #TVOL
