Vietnam, America, and Democracy

American democracy is not perfect, but it has met the test of time. It endures. It has weathered many crises: The Civil War, The Great Depression, The Civil Rights Unrest and The Vietnam War protests, and the Great Recession. It is now facing the crisis of the increasing chasm between the rich and the poor and the gradual weakening  and diminishing power of the middle class, leading to growing and irreconcilable confrontations between the forces of tribalism/nativism and liberalism while it is facing its enemies represented by China, Russia, and Radical Islam. 

I agreed that the Electoral Representation needs to be scraped. 

In America, there is a multi-party system, but the leaders of minor parties have been too weak to attract large followers and thus unable to shake off the dominance of The Democratic Party and The Republican Party. In this year's Presidential Election, there are minor parties on the ballot, but typically they aren't viewed potent enough to make a meaningful impact on the outcome of the election. 

America is not the only democracy where two parties traditionally dominate the political landscape and compete for power. It also happens in Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand. Its main advantage is that it favors stability over constant compromises and alliances as often seen in Italy and Israel. 

We can pontificate about Election and Democracy and Constitution until the cows come home, but the truth of the matter is that the real power lies with the people and whether they realize that stark, simple truth and exercise it and are willing to fight and die for it. Of course the people need leaders. So it all comes down to a central fact that in America, Vietnam, or anywhere else, the political leaders must truly love the people and the country, and put the interests of the people and the country over their own. And we all know that in Vietnam, tragically all the leaders in contemporary times since 1954 have been preoccupied with enriching themselves and their cronies instead of taking care of the people and the country. It could be said that the same thing is happening to America. 

We need a revolution in Vietnam and America. Sadly, there is no visible and viable leader in Vietnam to head a revolution. Neither is there one in America. Many dumb asses hallucinate and delude themselves that the demagogue Trump is such a leader. He is not. If elected, he will make America far worse, instead of better. Hillary will not be an agent of drastic changes in America. She believes in incrementalism, not radicalism. In spite of her faults, she will not unwittingly destroy America, as Trump might. She is the lesser of two evils. She is a safer choice.