07 January 2021 - 15:31Pro-Trump protesters storm into the US Capitol during clashes with police in Washington, the US, January 6 2021. Picture: REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETONFirst, there was the mishandling of a coronavirus pandemic spiralling out of control; then, chaotic elections that the incumbent refused to concede. Now, the televised storming of Capitol Hill by marauding protesters, virtually unchallenged by police.
President-elect Joe Biden will take over in two weeks and the pillars of the US political system are still standing. But the pernicious longer-term affect of events in recent months — culminating with the first large-scale breach of the Capitol since 1814, incited by an elected president — are far more worrying, especially for people fighting for freedom and representation elsewhere.
It’s noteworthy that, for now at least, commentary is sparser than back in November. The images from the ground are enough to do the work of many thousands of words for the world’s propagandists. There are three worrying consequences in all this. First, it makes peaceful transitions of power more difficult by bolstering the notion that strongmen love to support — that alternating leaders equals pandemonium.
Second, the example of US disarray allows authoritarian leaders, and those teetering on the brink of becoming one, to tighten control over opposition voices. Washington, they will argue, is proof of what happens when extreme, fringe elements run wild, society is allowed to fracture and social media is unbridled.
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