People are the ultimate deciders in a democracy- the old saying has seen repetitions hundreds of times and with all decks cleared for Joe Biden to become the 46th President of the US, it has come true for one more time. However insurmountable the forces that undermine people’s aspirations seem to be, as long as the unending love for democracy exists, sooner or later these ‘forces’ will be stampeded. The Americans are wise and have been able to distinguish the ‘better’ from the ‘worse’ and based on this wisdom have shown Donald Trump the doors. It’s not a question of America’s election alone or because of the fact the winner belongs to a party with a name similar to the term democracy. The results are significant for the entire world in the sense it carries the message and an assurance too that the tendency of majoritarianism which gives birth to terrible anti-people policies, certainly has an end. A proud moment for every democracy-loving Indians thousands of miles away as well, since Biden’s deputy will be Kamala Harris, the Indian-descent VP-elect who has made history as the first black woman to be elected to the high office. The glory of democracy has been restored, thanks to the people of the world’s oldest democracy.
Even though the official sworn-in is still a few days away, Biden has given the strong message that he and his colleagues will prefer the path of inclusiveness and the time ahead will be markedly different from the Trump era when the American society showed an alarming sign of returning back to the dark age of racism of the 60s and earlier. The President-elect in his first address to the nation has delivered the message of unity and has given a call for an end of “demonization”. It has been a fact that during the past four years, the American society at large, also known as the ‘melting pot’ has seen fissures developing on various fronts including the eruption of racism. It’s all coming to the light now what went against Trump in this historic election. People have been disgusted not only by the way the pandemic was handled by the outgoing President’s administration, but also about the management of the economy which has been rather off-colour well ahead of the pandemic and the foreign policy which has caused a substantial depreciation of the clout the US enjoys normally.
This welcome change has been possible largely due to the integrity of the majority of the institutions including the fourth estate which held their dignity high despite repeated assaults by Trump and his team. The aspect of integrity remains fundamental in all democratic set-ups and its degradation will only lead to ruins.

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List