Never again losing our democracy
Athenians had established what we nowadays call the first democracy by 500 BCE. For the first time, civilization turned away from autocratic rule and aspired to governance steered by the strength of the common people. Democracy brought two fundamental innovations to ancient Greek society: (1) popular selection instead of predetermination of governing representatives and (2) the opportunity to speak up and choose from an eligible group of candidates.
This initial phase of democracy empowered selected members of the society, i.e., male citizens, yet was still neither perfect nor permanent. At the dawn of the Common Era, Roman rulers began turning their backs on democratic ideals and, with the help of the military, restored old-fashioned governance, anchored in the supreme power of emperors.
Throughout the Middle Ages, power essentially rested in the hands of monarchs, aristocrats and clerics almost everywhere in Europe. Yet, after more than 1,200 years of suffocation, the brightness of democratic ideas finally penetrated through the dense clouds of oppression and brought back hope. At this time, Englishmen raised the flag of democracy and revolted against the king of England. They forced the king to sign the famous Magna Carta, limiting the powers and privileges of the king and providing more rights to the non-royal.
Almost 600 years later, the US Constitution and the French Revolution reinforced the principles of the Magna Carta by strengthening the ideas of freedom, equality and democratic governance. Finally, it was democracy’s time; at least it seemed fairly authentic. But, modern history appears to be in league with a series of buts and disloyal to democracy. Napoleon challenged it in the 19th century, Hitler in the 20th. Those men are only two of the notorious figures from modern Europe who repudiated democracy as the choice for a civilized government.
Fortunately, Europe, though scarred and decimated, moved forward and built what seemed to be a considerable foundation for democracy to flourish. Again, but could it last?
We now live in a world where democracy’s presence has never before reached its current level. The Freedom in the World 2018 report issued by Freedom House assessed 195 countries and 14 territories throughout 2017 and assigned an aggregate freedom indicator to each country. The report concluded that 88 countries had citizens who enjoyed unconditional democratic freedoms and rights, while 58 countries were ‘somewhat free’ and 49 countries preferred to chain their citizens. This means that officials of one quarter of the sovereign states around the globe fail to provide even a sneak peak of what democracy may look like to their inhabitants. In the context of recent history, the figure of 75 percent at least ‘somewhat democratic’ countries is already a mind-blowing and unprecedented number. However, it is not yet the time to celebrate the victory of democracy as its robustness in the past has proven to be fleeting.
The year 2017 experienced the highest global deterioration in political rights and civil freedoms throughout the recent decade. This includes countries’ abandoning democratic governance and initiating the glorification of autocratic rule as well as countries’ remaining functional democracies but deteriorating in their aggregate freedom indices. According to the Freedom House report, within ten years–from 2007 to 2017–six countries shifted from being free or partly free to tyrannical. The USA, Poland, Hungary and Malta are the few amongst many that remained democracies in 2017 but severely deteriorated in their aggregate freedom indices. Summing up the total general scores of countries improving or declining in civil freedoms, we observe that net declines have dramatically outnumbered net improvements during the last 12 years.
As we bear in mind the historical precedents where freedoms unpredictably and masterfully slipped away from the people, it should be about time for us to be concerned about recent global trends. We embrace democratic values and live them to the fullest as we feel that they have been granted to us with no terms and conditions. Yet, the truth is that no one granted them to us. It is we who won them through our efforts, including the spilling of innocent blood. Hence, it is we who must look after and protect them from persistent encroachments.
We should not be surprised to learn that the media has played the role of facilitator throughout the recent 10-12 years, which, sadly, have been marked by an immense degradation of the democratic values around the globe. Dense concentration of the news industry in the hands of a few media powerhouses limits the availability of alternative views and delivers news of the questionable objectivity. These media powerhouses run under commercial pressure and on the desire for fat profits. Thus, financial incentives are the most straightforward tool for political powers to employ media houses to manipulate and nudge us in their favour. Nudge after nudge, we may lose our democracy again–just as we appear on the verge of doing, based on the trends.
But not this time. Not again. We have learnt our painful lessons and are ready to take back our hallmarks of freedom. Let us, the people, and not the media powerhouses or governments become the masters of our own free speech. Let us decide what is true and what is false. Ultimately, let us, the people, own and run the media.
I firmly believe that each of us can contribute to news reporting that we believe is relevant to our communities. I firmly believe that community members are looking forward to hearing their peers out and to helping sort reported content into what is more and what is less relevant. Finally, I firmly believe that through uplifting the way we report, read and interact with the news, we will essentially win back our lost freedom points and will never again allow our democracy to disappear.
Join the movement at uporter.org.