🔸️The Western world is currently experiencing a political and societal division caused by socio-economic factors and a distrust of democratic institutions.
This is no secret and is perfectly perceptible in everyday life.
It is difficult to remain neutral in the face of this decline of trust in politics and this (sometimes almost anarchic) rise of anger towards a government similar to its constituents ideologically.
However, when politicians are taken by storm by criticism and insults, what about the people?
Are they not also responsible for weakening the system?
Are they simply too demanding?
Sometimes it even seems utopian, in reality many people attack the government verbally on a daily basis, having absolutely no knowledge of any political subject.
And if there is a will to be involved in some way in the democratic life of one's country (or at least the perception of it), then this will inevitably lead to a rise of populism which is as often present at the 2 extremes of the political spectrum.
Does the question of who is really legitimate to vote really exist? Certainly, it seems discriminatory in a certain sense but it is not inconceivable that there is a duty for each citizen to educate himself a minimum and to study each program meticulously during the election period.
Because in the end we have the elected people we deserve.
But who are they really these days? The divided climate leads to an (almost) new way of doing politics.
▪️Radical, unworkable solutions and a popular image that is the bait for a fanatical electorate that prefers to be attached to a personality rather than the quality of a program.
This pattern has produced, voluntarily or not (during the last 10 years in particular), the arrival in power of controversial people. It is quite normal that in a country that suffers, most of the people who undergo this suffering have a need to take refuge in the opposition, which presents itself as the savior of the people in front of the elites in place, described as weak and too moderate.
A real question at the heart of this matrix could be : "What is actually a societal improvement? And is "progress" necessarily synonymous with it today?
One has the feeling that on the one hand there is the conservative right that fights for the preservation of certain traditional values, those that the radical left tries to make disappear.
This inevitably leads to a lack of reflection, cooperation and Manichean stubbornness.
These ways of being politically active are constructed according to one’s daily life.
Employment, financial situation, family and community needs are at the heart of the creation of an image of the system.
However, it is obvious that we must not neglect the existence of other culprits who convey currents of thought.
I'm talking about the huge place that the school takes in the diffusion of ideologies.
▪️The intention of Western ministries or departments of education can be discussed, but it is undeniable that on certain subjects (especially historical or civilizational) many teachers, falsely neutral, transmit a version that indirectly expresses skepticism towards the most conservative parties.
Moreover, affirmative action in the prestigious universities perfectly reflects the preference to opt for a "progressive" rather than a meritocratic system.
This means that work and talent are now less privileged than ethnicity.
Equality of opportunity is still a social issue, but this kind of policy goes in the opposite direction.
Working on a school system that would be totally knowledge-based and aspiring to have each student enjoy his or her own individually designed freedom of opinion seems to me to be a priority.
No matter how much ideological propaganda there is, it is a source of tension and is necessarily an obstacle to a full democracy.
If today there is an enormous lack of culture among young people, it is obviously linked to the central role of the school institution and this unofficial "sociological" process present in many places.
The school is not the only subject of potential reforms in order to preserve the debate of ideas and a high level of knowledge.
I want to come to the media and social networks.
▪️Because we live in a world where the internet has become indispensable for too many people.
Getting information has become easier due to the relay of information and the rise of applications, channels and others that allow it.
However, in the midst of this overconsumption it is sometimes difficult to be informed in a clear and accurate way on a subject.
If one of the benefits of quick and easy access to news is that everyone is free to find someone who will comfort their convictions, for many people (especially young people), the "classic" TV news is now perceived as too formal, and so they prefer to turn to talk shows with heated and controversial debates.
Sometimes even simple videos of people explaining the facts in their own way.
If sometimes these are neutral and well documented, other "presenters" have a much freer, even radical tone where the facts are cruelly lacking in detail and context.
The problem is that today only a minority will make the effort to do outside research on the subject in question.
It seems almost laughable.
The popularity of the influencer, animator or other, the formatting he adds eliminates the need to question the facts just presented.
The explanation of phenomena or events by illegitimate personalities due to a lack of knowledge leads to a dumbing down of the society.
(Besides, a social network like Tik-Tok (which is not the only one) is transforming the western youth into an under-cultivated people.
Because too many young people now prefer to watch mostly uninteresting videos rather than really educate themselves or prepare their future).
And sometimes this can result in dangerous consequences.
Firstly by the control of fake-news, the propagation of conspiracy movements or incitement to hatred complicated to manage due to a too strong accumulation.
Secondly by the complexity to put laws in place without undermining the famous freedom of expression which is nowadays so hard to define.
An existential problem.
Moreover this term (freedom of speech) has taken a different turn due to the dimension perhaps too strong that has taken the debate in our society.
It is therefore easy for any political party (from its members or its electorate) to consolidate or even create a popular opinion hostile to the current democracy.
▪️Talking about freedom of speech in the Western world (in daily life or in the media) inevitably leads to mentioning the notion of "political correctness" which has become totally absurd, controversial and even ridiculous at times.
Indeed, we cannot deny that some words are inadmissible and must be condemned.
The problem is that we are witnessing the emergence of a new generation presenting itself as progressive, open-minded and which unfortunately does not know how to make the difference.
They prefer to act on trivial details that have absolutely no use or impact except to create tensions that did not exist before and to serve their cause.
This one which would be the acceptance of each person as he is. Quite paradoxical because some of them don't even accept themselves and invent genres.
Not because they need it but because they think they are in adequacy with the period in which they live where according to them to belong to a minority community is essential to understand the world.
It is the same kind of people who act as a kind of vigilante, checking that every word used does not offend any community. Unable to understand that every person, no matter who they are, must be self-deprecating and that laughing at everyone puts everyone on an equal footing.
🔹️The goal of a democracy is that every citizen can enjoy their freedoms to the fullest.
But the growing inequalities that seem to have settled in the heart of our society have formed an ultra harmful mix.
A rise of a radical populism fed by a political show similar to a market of ideas assumed by the media and social networks where are born conspiracy tendencies, racist, etc..
An overly biased school that trains politically correct police officers in which meritocracy breaks down.
A part of the population and certainly a majority of the young generation is brainwashed in one way or the other.
To be able to think freely and objectively has become too hard in a world that is surely evolving too fast and in opposite directions.
