ON Wednesday January 6, 2021, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro gathered his communications team and prepared to write a statement he had been dreaming about for years.
Maduro, like all of us, watched a country that often boasted of its greatness slide into chaos. The land of the free was suffering from a public healthcare crisis, a shaky economy, mistrust of the media, civil unrest and accusations of election fraud, all of which culminated in an attempted coup d’état of sorts.
Maduro shook his head and stroked his ridiculously thick mustache, all of this was very concerning to him… this behavior from a country and a leader that often referred to him as a dictator and told all the countries not to share or play with Venezuela.
“Tisk tisk,” he thought, “What savagery, it’s a blessing I am such an amazing leader and all the Venezuelan people love me and all the wealth and greatness I have bought to them.”
So he wrote. He expressed his concern, he condemned the violence, then he threw some shade, “With this unfortunate episode, the United States is suffering the same thing that it has generated in other countries with policies of aggression.”
Hey ‘Murica, need some ice for the burn that truth bomb caused?
The events that took place in Washington DC on Wednesday, with Trump supporters violently breaching the Capitol building, captivated the world.
You see, the United States of America has long looked down on other nations, boasting of their freedoms and firm hold of democracy.
There was nothing they loved more than rubbing their greatness in everyone’s faces. The USA saw themselves as somewhat the guardians of democracy and was never too shy to drop a bomb or two into nations they felt didn’t comply with their high standards of FREEEEDOOOMMM!
Let’s face facts, they were not the most liked the kid on the playground, they were the most feared, and on Wednesday we saw that scary kid get kicked in the balls.
Jokes aside, there is nothing funny over the loss of life or the destruction of property. However there is a lesson to be learnt here.
Democracy is fragile. All it takes is a little doubt and a handful of unhinged party loyalists to dismantle it.
Over the past four years President Donald Trump sowed seeds of distrust. The media was not to be trusted, the Democrats are socialists/communists/haters of freedom, everything is a conspiracy, all civil unrest is the result of underground leftist radicals, the Covid-19 pandemic is an exaggeration and Joe Biden is a reptilian alien with ties to the illuminati and so on.
Before the November 2020 presidential elections, Trump spoke of voter fraud and despite not having much evidence, convinced people the Democrats would steal the elections.
After the elections, when it had become apparent he had not won, he challenged the results in every way possible. His final fight came on Wednesday morning before Congress gathered to confirm the winner of the 2020 Presidential elections.
In a last ditch rally, he continued his anti-democracy rhetoric. He assured his supporters the elections had been stolen and urged them to march through Washington DC.
So the crazies went full throttle because seeds of mistrust had been sowed, and now they had begun to bloom. Not even Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence or other Republican leaders could reverse the damage that had been done.
Does anyone think this all seems familiar?
Before our 2020 general elections, the same shadow of mistrust was being placed on the Elections and Boundaries Commissions, most notably by the United National Congress and the little party that thought it could – the People’s Empowerment Party.
Pre-elections both parties hinted of collusion between members of the Peoples National Movement Government and EBC. Many supporters gobbled it up without seeing any concrete or confirmed evidence.
They accused and still accuse… well them, the Government and everyone else… the media of having a twisted agenda or being bought out by the rival party or their financiers. So people had and still do have limited faith in the media being balanced…unless the report makes the party they do not support look bad, then it’s a different story.
Post elections, the results were challenged in court, allegations of voter padding or having voting ballots thrown away were made. And again party loyalists ate it up.
Had the UNC won, I am pretty sure the PNM would have done the same.
It is in these moments that democracy is threatened. The second a politician or some other national figure casts doubt on our voting process and institutions without solid, chargeable evidence, democracy is weakened.
And it’s a scary thing, because while we Trinbagonians don’t tend to be as intensely insane as some Trump supporters, there may be a time when a cuckoo busts through the bird’s nest and incites a similar scene.
We saw it before in 1990 and we all know that history often repeats itself.
Ver la historia en Español abajo
Comentario: La Democracia Es Frágil, Incluso En ‘Murica
Por Alicia Chamely
El Miércoles 6 de Enero de 2021, el Presidente Venezolano Nicolás Maduro reunió a su equipo de comunicaciones y se preparó para redactar una declaración con la que había estado soñando durante años.
Maduro, como todos nosotros, vio cómo un país que a menudo se jactaba de su grandeza se hundía en el caos. La tierra de los libres sufría una crisis de salud pública, una economía inestable, desconfianza en los medios, disturbios civiles y acusaciones de fraude electoral, todo lo cual culminó en una especie de intento de golpe de estado.
Maduro negó con la cabeza y acarició su ridículamente espeso bigote, todo esto le preocupaba mucho … este comportamiento de un país y un líder que muchas veces se refería a él como dictador y le decía a todos los países que no compartieran ni jugaran con Venezuela. .
“Tisk tisk”, pensó, “Qué salvajismo, es una bendición que sea un líder tan asombroso y todo el pueblo Venezolano me ama y toda la riqueza y grandeza que les he comprado”.
Así que escribió.Expresó su preocupación, condenó la violencia, luego arrojó algo de sombra de dudas, “Con este lamentable episodio, Estados Unidos está sufriendo lo mismo que ha generado en otros países con políticas de agresión”.
Oye, Murica, ¿necesitas hielo para la quemadura que provocó la bomba de la verdad?
Los eventos que tuvieron lugar en Washington DC el Miércoles, con partidarios de Trump violando violentamente el edificio del Capitolio, cautivaron al mundo.
Verá, los Estados Unidos de América han despreciado durante mucho tiempo a otras naciones, y se jactan de sus libertades y su firme dominio de la democracia.
No había nada que amaran más que frotar su grandeza en las caras de todos. Los EE. UU. Se vieron a sí mismos como los guardianes de la democracia y nunca fueron demasiado tímidos para lanzar una bomba o dos en naciones que sentían que no cumplían con sus altos estándares de LIBEEERTAAAD.
Seamos realistas, no eran los niños más queridos en el patio de recreo, eran los más temidos, y el Miércoles vimos a ese niño aterrador recibir una patada en las pelotas.
Dejando a un lado las bromas, no hay nada divertido en la pérdida de vidas o la destrucción de propiedades. Sin embargo, hay una lección que aprender aquí.
La democracia es frágil. Todo lo que se necesita es un poco de duda y un puñado de desquiciados leales al partido para desmantelarlo.
Durante los últimos cuatro años, el presidente Trump sembró semillas de desconfianza. No se podía confiar en los medios de comunicación, los demócratas son socialistas / comunistas / odiadores de la libertad, todo es una conspiración, todos los disturbios civiles son el resultado de los radicales de izquierda clandestinos, la pandemia de Covid-19 es una exageración y Joe Biden es un alienígena reptil. con lazos con los illuminati y así sucesivamente.
Antes de las elecciones presidenciales de Noviembre del 2020, Trump habló de fraude electoral y, a pesar de no tener mucha evidencia, convenció a la gente de que los demócratas se robarían las elecciones.
Después de las elecciones, cuando se hizo evidente que no había ganado, desafió los resultados de todas las formas posibles. Su pelea final se produjo el miércoles por la mañana antes de que el Congreso se reuniera para confirmar al ganador de las elecciones presidenciales del 2020.
En un último mitin, continuó su retórica antidemocrática. Aseguró a sus seguidores que las elecciones habían sido robadas y los instó a marchar por Washington DC.
Así que los locos se fueron a máxima velocidad porque se habían sembrado semillas de desconfianza y ahora habían comenzado a florecer. Ni siquiera el Vicepresidente de Trump, Mike Pence, u otros Lideres Republicanos pudieron revertir el daño que se había hecho.
¿Alguien piensa que todo esto le parece familiar?
Antes de nuestras elecciones generales del 2020, la misma sombra de desconfianza se depositaba en las Comisiones de Elecciones y Límites, sobre todo por el Congreso Nacional Unido y el pequeño partido que pensaba que podía hacerlo: el Partido del Empoderamiento del Pueblo.
Antes de las elecciones, ambos partidos insinuaron una confabulación entre miembros del Gobierno del Movimiento Nacional Popular y EBC. Muchos simpatizantes se lo tragaron sin ver ninguna evidencia concreta o confirmada.
Acusaron y todavía acusan… bueno, a ellos, al Gobierno y a todos los demás… a los medios de comunicación de tener una agenda torcida o de ser comprados por el partido rival o sus financistas. Así que la gente tenía y todavía tiene una fe limitada en que los medios de comunicación sean equilibrados … a menos que el informe haga quedar mal al partido que no apoyan, entonces es una historia diferente.
Después de las elecciones, los resultados fueron impugnados en los tribunales, se hicieron acusaciones de relleno de votantes o de que se desecharan las boletas de votación. Y nuevamente los leales al partido se lo comieron.
Si hubiera ganado UNC, estoy bastante segura de que PNM habría hecho lo mismo.
Es en estos momentos cuando la democracia se ve amenazada. En el segundo en que un político o alguna otra figura nacional arroje dudas sobre nuestro proceso de votación e instituciones sin pruebas sólidas y imputables, la democracia se debilita.
Y da miedo, porque si bien los Trinbagonianos no tendemos a estar tan locos como algunos partidarios de Trump, puede haber un momento en que un Cucú atraviesa el nido de pájaros e incite a una escena similar.
Lo vimos antes en 1990 y todos sabemos que la historia a menudo se repite.
Commentary: Democracy is Fragile, Even in ‘Murica
ON Wednesday January 6, 2021, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro gathered his communications team and prepared to write a statement he had been dreaming about for years.
Maduro, like all of us, watched a country that often boasted of its greatness slide into chaos. The land of the free was suffering from a public healthcare crisis, a shaky economy, mistrust of the media, civil unrest and accusations of election fraud, all of which culminated in an attempted coup d’état of sorts.
Maduro shook his head and stroked his ridiculously thick mustache, all of this was very concerning to him… this behavior from a country and a leader that often referred to him as a dictator and told all the countries not to share or play with Venezuela.
“Tisk tisk,” he thought, “What savagery, it’s a blessing I am such an amazing leader and all the Venezuelan people love me and all the wealth and greatness I have bought to them.”
So he wrote. He expressed his concern, he condemned the violence, then he threw some shade, “With this unfortunate episode, the United States is suffering the same thing that it has generated in other countries with policies of aggression.”
Hey ‘Murica, need some ice for the burn that truth bomb caused?
The events that took place in Washington DC on Wednesday, with Trump supporters violently breaching the Capitol building, captivated the world.
You see, the United States of America has long looked down on other nations, boasting of their freedoms and firm hold of democracy.
There was nothing they loved more than rubbing their greatness in everyone’s faces. The USA saw themselves as somewhat the guardians of democracy and was never too shy to drop a bomb or two into nations they felt didn’t comply with their high standards of FREEEEDOOOMMM!
Let’s face facts, they were not the most liked the kid on the playground, they were the most feared, and on Wednesday we saw that scary kid get kicked in the balls.
Jokes aside, there is nothing funny over the loss of life or the destruction of property. However there is a lesson to be learnt here.
Democracy is fragile. All it takes is a little doubt and a handful of unhinged party loyalists to dismantle it.
Over the past four years President Donald Trump sowed seeds of distrust. The media was not to be trusted, the Democrats are socialists/communists/haters of freedom, everything is a conspiracy, all civil unrest is the result of underground leftist radicals, the Covid-19 pandemic is an exaggeration and Joe Biden is a reptilian alien with ties to the illuminati and so on.
Before the November 2020 presidential elections, Trump spoke of voter fraud and despite not having much evidence, convinced people the Democrats would steal the elections.
After the elections, when it had become apparent he had not won, he challenged the results in every way possible. His final fight came on Wednesday morning before Congress gathered to confirm the winner of the 2020 Presidential elections.
In a last ditch rally, he continued his anti-democracy rhetoric. He assured his supporters the elections had been stolen and urged them to march through Washington DC.
So the crazies went full throttle because seeds of mistrust had been sowed, and now they had begun to bloom. Not even Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence or other Republican leaders could reverse the damage that had been done.
Does anyone think this all seems familiar?
Before our 2020 general elections, the same shadow of mistrust was being placed on the Elections and Boundaries Commissions, most notably by the United National Congress and the little party that thought it could – the People’s Empowerment Party.
Pre-elections both parties hinted of collusion between members of the Peoples National Movement Government and EBC. Many supporters gobbled it up without seeing any concrete or confirmed evidence.
They accused and still accuse… well them, the Government and everyone else… the media of having a twisted agenda or being bought out by the rival party or their financiers. So people had and still do have limited faith in the media being balanced…unless the report makes the party they do not support look bad, then it’s a different story.
Post elections, the results were challenged in court, allegations of voter padding or having voting ballots thrown away were made. And again party loyalists ate it up.
Had the UNC won, I am pretty sure the PNM would have done the same.
It is in these moments that democracy is threatened. The second a politician or some other national figure casts doubt on our voting process and institutions without solid, chargeable evidence, democracy is weakened.
And it’s a scary thing, because while we Trinbagonians don’t tend to be as intensely insane as some Trump supporters, there may be a time when a cuckoo busts through the bird’s nest and incites a similar scene.
We saw it before in 1990 and we all know that history often repeats itself.
Comentario: La Democracia Es Frágil, Incluso En ‘Murica
El Miércoles 6 de Enero de 2021, el Presidente Venezolano Nicolás Maduro reunió a su equipo de comunicaciones y se preparó para redactar una declaración con la que había estado soñando durante años.
Maduro, como todos nosotros, vio cómo un país que a menudo se jactaba de su grandeza se hundía en el caos. La tierra de los libres sufría una crisis de salud pública, una economía inestable, desconfianza en los medios, disturbios civiles y acusaciones de fraude electoral, todo lo cual culminó en una especie de intento de golpe de estado.