USA democracy has often been seen as the benchmark that not only many so-called Third World countries set themselves targets to achieve, but the US itself sets as a dream for the world to attain with certain local deviations permissible. Now that the 2024 elections have been decided, should views change? We have a host of questions about the whole US system and processes and not to mention the hypocrisy of the US Christian based values society – character is not a central factor when choosing leaders.
Recent US election results serve as a reminder to us that the pompous US democracy is an outrageously exaggerated ideal and that it is nothing, but organised greed, an oligarch-controlled system built on financial abundance, a superior military and coercion than higher moral standards.
There is nothing extraordinarily special coming from any system whose moral standards are so low that a rich male charged with rape and 34 felony charges, does not face justice, but he is able to legally contest election for presidency, not only that, but he also goes on to win the election.
For some time, the global south or third world, has viewed the West and the US as agents of moral authority and their norms and values the gold standard of how life should be lived and politics done. Without questioning, we have made extensive sacrifices to inch closer and hold on tightly to anything remotely Western.
Perhaps we are victims of multi-level marketing strategies and coercive tactics of the financially rich, militarily superior Western nations. It seems outrageous for anyone to look up to, as a role model, a society with little regard for women’s rights and its laws. If any country’s judiciary system conducted itself like some justices in the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) in recent years, the US would be the first to raise questions of the integrity of the court, yet it wants to project SCOTUS as an epitome of judiciary independence and democratic integrity.
Threats of violence, overt racism and misogyny displayed during the latest US elections is a concern because when powerful and very influential countries feel free to behave anyhow, without reprisals, it becomes impossible for the world to think intellectually about global issues that matter.
Now that we know what characters qualify for presidency in parts of the Western world, we reject their pervasive moral authority and notion that they represent universally accepted and superior ideals, and we question the integrity of voting when lies influence choice and a large section of the electorate is badly informed and cannot demonstrate intelligible logic for their choices.
This is the time for change where ‘smaller nations’ question the US’s self-anointed morality gate-keeping role and openly contradict US moral standards exported to the global community as United Nations shared values; every country must look at its own traditions, dreams and values and set its own high standards. It must be a normalised practice that we define ourselves in terms of our own standards and values and not what others say or think about us.
We must remove our Western-tainted lens and objectively analyse systems without presumption of them being universally superior but as mere alternatives, among other governing tools available for use. Whatever system or combination of systems we opt for must be informed both by our needs and its ability to reflect our customs without prejudice.
Societies reserve the right to choose their own path; we have our own high standards for what we want in politics and our political partnerships and how we want to be treated. As members of the global community, we have a lot to offer – natural resources, culture and authenticity and all the things that make good and working political partnerships.
Our African leaders have turned themselves into Western political scholars and blind salesman of Western values in Africa. They must invest as much time in studying African traditional leadership concepts and potential application in real time just as they do with Western values.
Can our traditional leadership systems be used, with relevant adaptations, to govern contemporary states? Does democracy represent our interests? Which democratic processes will improve livelihoods? Is a process like voting which gives no guarantees the right candidate is chosen, the best tool or just a convenient tool?
Growth and progress in Africa rely on objective analyses of our traditional systems and values and effective integration of sciences. We must learn and take what we need from the world without being consumed by it. Persistent poor systemic performance in Africa is not always down to half-hearted implementation of Western standards but the failure to set higher standards and fewer limitations for ourselves. We must be co-creators of systems that fit into our identity and not subject to systems whose survival require us to reject everything about ourselves.
MTHWAKAZI INDEPENDENT 