"THE PEOPLE"

“I write to understand as much as to be understood.” I allude to this Ellie Wiesel quote often, as a disclaimer. In the same vein, I understand that if you don’t want your writing to be read by others, burn it as soon as you finish. I think of it like explorers leaving tracks behind, should we need to find our way home. Likewise, should someone pass this way and read my sign, if it be useful then Godspeed: so I won’t be burning my work. It is for my benefit but in the end, if I choose, I can share it. 

I used to work for a lady at Hospice, we got along very well. Now that neither of us work for Hospice we remain friends. When it comes to religion and politics we live in different camps but value each other’s views. We can set aside our own beliefs long enough to gain better vision into the other. We agree to disagree and that is easier said than done. Years, maybe a decade back, after an election went her way she concluded her observation with, “The People have spoken.”  That seemed to be her validation. For me it begged a new question: Which people? We shook that tree for a while but without any resolution. 

If you want to learn something on the internet you must seek several sources and from the start, view each one critically. Emotionally charged or ideologically leading language indicates propaganda, even when it fits neatly with your own feelings. I’m not in the market for propaganda, only a better understanding. The phrase “The People” gained popular usage in the 1800’s along with the rise of Populism. It infers the virtue and high moral values of a class of people who feel like they have been denied something wonderful, that they deserve. “The People” historically felt cheated by another class of people who had power, the power that comes with wealth, education and, or opportunity. So “The People” were a good, moral force against the powerful “Elite”. 

Populism is, has been employed by groups, classes of people to gin up support for social, political push back against, as they see it, the powers that be. Populism has been, continues to be used by both the political right and left and by religious and ethnic communities of all stripes. If you want a revolution, even a bloodless one, you must raise the stakes, convince potential followers that their misfortune is the fault of another group and “We ain’t gonna take it anymore.” If you are sleeping with "The People" by virtue of your perceived high morals and deserving nature, your counterparts, the powerful, immoral, self obsessed "Elitists" become assailable. 

Populist leaders tend to be charismatic, convincingly easy to believe if they are selling what you think you rightly deserve. It’s not about physical attraction but in one way or another it does translate as a seductive personality. In 2016 there was DonaldTrump & Ted Cruz on the right with Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren on the left. Sanders narrowly missed his party’s nomination while Trump went on to win the White House. Personalities aside, it is widely agreed that a win for Sanders would have been as troubled and difficult as Trump’s reign has been. If populist leadership does not have widespread, loyal support it is very difficult to govern. FDR did it but he had The Great Depression and World War II to keep the country galvanized. Populist leadership tends to drive opposing interests even deeper and more committed into their beliefs, seeing themselves as the latest version of  “The People.” 

The leap from Populist Leader to Demagogue is not guaranteed but certainly not uncommon. Latin and South American countries have done that dance predictably for most of the last century. Some form of socialism was supposed to eliminate poverty and bring prosperity for all. But when new leaders took power they wanted to rule rather than govern and they want to be President for life. They traded Oligarchy for a Dictatorship, the poor were still poor and the change meant kill squads and the media was controlled by the military instead of Rupert Murdoch. “The People” were the same people but the “Elite” had switched chairs. 

Adolph Hitler in Germany and Joseph McCarthy in the USA are more familiar demagogues who took an opposite path. They used national security and fear of foreigners to gain power. At the end of their stories, “The People” vs. “The Elite” was redefined to suit their personal ambitions. Certainly, considering Germany's dismal outcome of World War I, Jews were the new threat and Europe needed to be punished for Germany’s humiliation. Hitler wanted to make Germany great again but it was all contingent on him being the new God. One of, maybe the most serious problem with a democratic form of government and free, fair elections is that free people are free to elect terrible leaders; Hitler the prime example. I don’t know what that says about the USA and its political turmoil but I’m sure both camps feel like they represent “The People” and “The Elite” are the other guys. 

Now that I’ve chewed on Populism, on The People and Demagoguery I can go do something else. My politics lean left naturally and my Faith has winnowed down to a conditional devotion to gravity and the speed of light.  But I am convinced that neither Faith nor political orientation are the choices we would like to believe. Most of what we believe in is driven inherently, by DNA and/or by seeds that were planted in our experience long before we learned to read. But that’s for another day.