A 'leaderless' West

Strong leadership is immediately shown when an animal pack is threatened. Under such circumstances, some animal leaders will unite them more than ever, guide them to act in unison with discipline and determination, and bring them out of the woods. It is how they survive.

Regrettably, when the West is in dire need of strong, visionary leaders, we find ourselves led by individuals who are characterless, compromise their values, and represent the interests of mega-corporations and international entities.

On the other hand, the opposite of the West, the world of BRICS, is run by "strong men"-take, for example, Xi Jinping, Modi, and Putin. The commonality among them is that they are all fervent nationalists, populists, and defenders of their culture, traditions and national interests. In particular, Xi and Putin have more in common, which makes them more united and determined against the US, whose next "leader" will likely be less serious to be taken and even less to be afraid of.

A leader is a mirror to the nation they lead. A great nation is the work of great leaders-certainly across generations. Historically, great leaders have taken their nation out of a crisis to make it great again, manifesting in Trump's slogan, "Make America Great Again." However, it is just a slogan that sounds solemn but must be realised genuinely.

In the West, now at the crossroads of historic choice, the critical problem lies not between right or left, and conservatives or progressives, but between the democratic rule of people and the establishment of perpetual tyranny achieved through abuse of democracy. The current US elections are key to resolving this tension, for good or worse.

There is a growing tendency in the West that politicians gradually cease to serve the people they represent. Then, we may wonder if there is any point in electing them to influential governmental positions. If we push this argument to its limit, we may even further wonder if there is any point in having elections to perpetuate our illusions that political leadership takes care of us as the people as the ultimate source and objective of this very power.

To imagine a leaderless West is frightening, but it is also sobering to reconsider our political destiny, re-enforcing that no political power is legitimate in a democracy without our collective political will and interests being taken seriously, consistently, and genuinely.