The Sad State of Democracy
I am not a fan of Italian TV, but the other day my friend Elena shared a very powerful TV segment with me. The piece, from a show called “Piazza Pulita” (“fare piazza pulita” means “to wipe the slate clean”) made me reflect on the state of democracy, and just here in Italy. In this segment entitled “Freedom for Sale”, the Italian writer Stefano Massini talks about meeting the recently deceased Chilean author Luis Sepulveda. Sepulveda died of Covid-19.
In their meeting, Sepulveda recounted the moment in 1973 when he was handed his verdict for opposing the regime of Pinochet. Accused of treason, he could have been condemned to death, but instead got a life sentence. Sepulveda experienced a mixture of extreme joy at not facing the death penalty and great sadness at the prospect of giving up his life’s dreams and aspirations due to lifelong incarceration. He told Massini something like this: “You see, when the people in countries like mine give up their freedom, they usually do so in moments of emergency. They give it up believing that their freedom, which is the only thing they have left, can be bartered for some semblance of better conditions.”
Massini went on to describe how this statement felt particularly relevant in light of recent history. The attacks on September 11th 2001 gave way gave way to the Patriot Act, which gave unprecedented rights to law enforcement to encroach upon civil rights in the name of anti-terrorism. A similar act was put into force in France after the Charlie Hebdo shootings in 2015. And now, here in Italy, it seems suddenly normal to have drones and helicopters surveilling our lives and police chasing after us to check why we are out of the house. (On a side note, have you seen the video of the man being caught sunbathing on the beach in Rimini by a drone and police quad-bikes?) There is also enthusiastic talk about an app (which will be called Immuni, by the way) which will have our medical data and trace us and our contacts. Of course, we are being reassured that our data will be safeguarded. But common, people, we all know that this is wishful thinking. I can only agree with Massini’s thesis. We have to be extremely alert about what we are willing to give up in the name of “safety”.
The erosion of democracy is not just an Italian phenomenon. In Hungary, an autocrat Viktor Orbán used the pandemic to consolidate his power and declare an indefinite state of emergency while the rest of the world looked on. In the U.K, Boris Johnson, who clearly bungled his approach to the pandemic is suddenly a national hero because he nearly died of the virus himself. No, I am not suggesting we point fingers and polemicise every single government decision, but it is our greatest duty as citizens to think critically. For a piece from The Independent on this subject see here.
In the U.S Donald Trump has been spewing more misguided statements than ever about his powers over governors and his threat to adjourn congress to see that democracy is in danger there too. A recent New Yorker article by Masha Green entitled We Won’t Know the Exact Moment When Democracy Dies, puts it perfectly. “At the end of the day, like at the end of so many days, all of Trump’s threats and claims can be normalized or chalked up to so much authoritarian hot air. This is exactly how autocracy works: it creeps in, staking one claim after another, but it does not firmly and finally announce its own arrival.”
On a lighter note, since it’s Sunday and I don’t want to bore you with this heavy talk (though I do want to encourage you to think, to criticise and maybe even resist), let’s talk about the petition to have Anthony Fauci become People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive”. I have been remiss to add him to my growing list of Corona Sex Symbols. Isn’t it interesting how no one has made a petition for Angela Merkel to be the “Sexiest Woman Alive”? I guess proven leadership in a woman is not considered sexy. I beg to disagree. Angela, save me. I am yours forever.