My Dear Friend of Democracy,
If you imagine the best of all political worlds, Donald Trump would probably have lost the presidential election, populist and extremist parties would only exist in theory, and politics would debate but always focus on the matter. No malice. No lies. No fake news.
Would we want to live in such a world?
Of course, we say.
Really?
If we think twice, wouldn't we find this world a little boring?
Nothing to get upset about. No statement that we could expose as stupid. Nothing to fight for.
Chris Hayes, the host of a show on the cable channel MSNBC, asked a question in the New York Times recently that I've been thinking about for days:
"Did Americans elect Donald Trump again because they were bored with the status quo?"
At first, I found the question outrageous. Of course not, was my first reaction.
I'm not so sure anymore.
Here's what I'm wondering.
Haven't we become addicted to excitement? Aren't we all constantly reaching for our phones? Checking notifications, refreshing the stream, scrolling through timelines, waiting for chat messages, retweeting our peer group’s posts? We limit our children's screen time but pull the amusement device out of our pockets all day long.
Yes, I think we are addicted. And Donald Trump feeds this addiction. Whether you love him or hate him, both groups need him.
We need the devil to feed us. We need him so that we don't get bored.
Because boredom is our biggest worry. Therefore, we worry about running out of distractions. That we've forgotten our cell phones at home. That the batteries are running out. That no one has sent us any message.
Because then we would have to deal with ourselves. With our inadequacies, our finite nature, our mortality.
We constantly flee from it. People have always done. But it has never been easier.
Instead, if we didn't constantly distract ourselves, there would be so much to discover.
The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said:
"The more you limit yourself, the more resourceful you become."
Therefore, we have to put our cell phones aside. We have to train ourselves to do less. To learn to be still.
Then, maybe, we will find out that we no longer need Donald Trump.
See you in Democracy,
Johannes
This isa really brilliant, thought provoking and courageous article! Thank you!!!