Editor's note: The following letter is in response to the editorial “Our democracy requires us to stay rational” appearing in the Feb. 2, 2017 edition of the Northern Life.
In his piece, (Mark) Gentili unjustly dismisses the legitimate concerns held by many regarding the state of the world and of our Western democracies.
He does so by caricaturing them as arising from “base instincts,” and then goes on to assert the superiority of the left’s position, which, according to him, stands on principle and derives from reason.
Unfortunately, those on the left tend to confuse their idealism with being principled, and as a result, they malign the motivations of those who have the courage not to ignore the evil that exists in the world, in their fellow human beings, and in themselves.
Those concerned about immigration are labelled xenophobes. Those upset and worried by government corruption and mismanagement are dismissed as fearful and angry. Social conservatives are demonized as intolerant bigots.
Despite this injustice, the idealism of the left can result in positive outcomes for some, for a time, but it usually comes at a great eventual cost to society, to which the left tends to be completely blind.
Demagoguery is one thing, but the incessant criticism of populism coming from the world media and politicians since the passing of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump shows how little regard these elites have for ordinary citizens and their concerns. It reflects the disdain they hold for the very democracies they claim to defend.
I do not believe that most of Trump’s voters are suffering from illusions regarding his character or ability. For many, his allure is simply his willingness to speak and act (if only crudely and clumsily) outside the political orthodoxy which has been imposed on us for far too long.
J.P. Rank
Sudbury