Democracy- The Illusion of Choice

My head up, eyes closed as I breathe gently while a calming cold breeze massages my face. The sense of freedom is overwhelming here, a strange experience I must say. The feeling of the well-formed grains of the white sandy beach pressing against my feet is tickly. I slowly open my eyes to gaze at the vastness of the ocean complimented by a crystal clear blue sky, they are inseparable beauty. Everything seems to be in harmony here, the animals are in synch with the beautiful environment as the Sun smiles down upon the land. This island offer solitude away from all the negativity humanity has created, I am in full control of my actions and behavior here. Unfortunately, all these are just in my head, a mere lucid imaginations! I would have wished for staying in an island free from the influence of societal evil, but everlasting solitude is physically and emotionally strenuous because we are social creatures, besides I cannot afford an Island right now, so I am stuck to this life. A life where the common people have little or no say, a life where large corporates influence and manipulate every angle of our life, a life where a few politicians makes rules for their own interests and gains, a life where your sweat benefits a few, a life where you’ll be faced with huge suctions for standing for the truth, and a life I would gladly give up on with the slightest opportunity.

Democracy is defined as the Government for the people by the people and of the people. ‘The people” being the majority. According to its definition, it gives power to the people to choose leaders and how our nation is governed. However this is not the case, politics is not about 99 percent of us but is about the 1 percent who controls everything in it. Our democracy is a sham. We have no say in the factors which most affect our future. Democracy is frustrated by a process which could just as effectively be decided by a coin toss. 

There is a vicious cycle in our society that involves two things: money and power. Those in powerful positions either have money, or people with money put the person they want to have power in power. The illusion of democracy makes us feel like we put them there, or that we even want them there. We have been deceived into believing there is democracy. We are naïve not to realize how we are being manipulated by the 1%.  The sad truth is that rich and powerful corporates directly influence your state of life by implanting or paying off that leader you think you elected, to push agendas for their own benefit. Tobacco industries which gives us cancer, soft drink industries which makes us fat and diabetic, fast food industries which literally fed us with slow poison to mention just but a few, have in the past and present paid off politicians to make bills to allow them to continue killing us as they make huge profits. This is paramount in a ‘The moat Liberal and Democratic’ country like US.

Some few days I was watching some movie, I think most movie lovers have watched… “Now you see me now you don’t”. This movie is about magic. The characters in it are using conjuring trick that makes people believe in magic, yet in the real sense, they are manipulated. Everything is planned, they just take advantage of their naivety. Such is the similar concept with our democracy. We are duped into believing that we are democratic. My question is; how many agrees to the huge loans taken by the ‘government’ burdening tax payers? Who benefits from multibillion government tenders? Who really benefits from bilateral and unilateral trades? Who are the real beneficiaries of government subsidiaries? Why are you paid so little wages yet your company swims in profits? When was the last time your voice was heard? Why did you really vote for that particular politician, did you really have an option? Do you fall for the side shows of the politicians used to divert attention from real issues? Are you in full control of your life or in autopilot? 

 At least we think… 

“Screw the popular vote, and who has the most support from the majority.” That is what they say. Our political leaders are appointed… NOTE, I said appointed not ELECTED. I hope you did get me right? Or let me further explain, we are made to believe that we elected them, yet in the actual sense, they are appointed by certain individuals in our society. This is by selecting the person who will continue to line the pockets of the rich, the person who will toe the line for “big Pharma,” “Big Oil,” or whatever lobby group that paid enough money to shape the regulations or lack thereof that rule their industry. It is not about the political parties vying for political leadership, it is about money feeding power and power feeding money.

I was debating with a friend of mine on the need to vote. My take was, there is no need for me to vote. My argument was it is a waste time. But why? This is because, of the above mentioned reasons. My vote do not count anyway, so why should I bother. “This should change,” I convince myself. Why then should you vote when the elections are already predetermined? You might not realize it, but the reality is that popular or people’s favorite Politian is pocketed by the real people who rule the country behind the curtains. Paranoid? You might think!

This voting thing we so proudly take part in is about as useful as dangling keys if front of a crying baby, it shuts us up; it pacifies us. We are being lied to. The powerful people want nothing to do with democracy. You see, the problem with dangling keys in front of a crying baby is eventually the baby gets tired of the keys and starts crying again. In the long run, you are going to have to deal with the reason why the baby is crying, not just the act of crying.

In the end, the voices from down below are no longer going to be pacified by illusion of democracy and we will demand it. This has happened before, but the amplified ideology from viewing deck overpowers the ideology of rising from below where the rest of us reside. It is happening right now, we have candidates who are using their platform to advance a revolution, but they are being stonewalled at every turn and blacked out by mainstream media. The ones who stand to lose, the ones who have shook us down, and the ones who fueled the illusion of democracy are drowning their ideology out. 

It is time to stand up for democracy. We the people have been told that our voice matters, therefore we the people need to make our voices heard. We can no longer stand idly by waiting for something to change when it is clear that it’s not going to. We cannot keep thinking that the blue team is any different than the red team because they are not. Democracy is the common people’s rule, the power is in the people not the few manipulative individual using oppression to tame the people. Until we realize the truth that we are the source of power, there won’t be change.

These guys vying for political seats, majority if not all of them are all the same. Marked with greed for power. Fooling us that they have our society’s interest at heart. They are just lying to us by coming up with good policies that they do not fulfill when they get the leadership. All we need is a true government that is marked by actions that explain that it is indeed a government of the people, for the people and by the people. 

Our democracy has been hijacked for a long time, all electoral freedoms in our society are over so long as it’s controlled by selfish corporations. We should not allow these streets to be taken over by the selfish ‘rich’. Because it’s all of us who have built this nation, and we can tear it down unless they give us what we need.  A country like Switzerland is in the act of making this a reality. Its citizens can challenge a law passed by parliament with a referendum. You might just be thinking of your own Island now!

Let us Wake up!

Author: Beline Nyangi

Beline is an International Relations Professional. She holds an MSc. degree in Conflict and Governance from University of Amsterdam. She has competence and interest in social policy research advisory and implementation in the areas of peace and security, transitional justice, human rights, refugee rights, immigration and social justice. She enjoys traveling, drinking "dawa", good books and rich and thoughtful conversation. View all posts by Beline Nyangi