When money talks louder than people

THE central tenet of a functioning democracy is that it should reflect the will of the people.

This is clearly much easier said than done. The majority isn’t always right. But it is right for, well ..., a majority of the time.

So why is it that more and more in today’s world, there are bigger and bigger deviations from what the popular masses want, versus what they get from their governments?

My view is that people with a lot of money and disproportionate influence have become such big centres of gravity that they are bending the light of governance away from its natural, rightful path.

They often do this by using money to influence political players and political parties. As a result, we are seeing more and more political parties adopt fringe ideologies and policy platforms that are seemingly vastly at odds with popular sentiment.

This is happening all over the world, including in Malaysia.

Given that it is election season in the United States at the moment, I will use three examples from the US that can shed light on politics both here and elsewhere – gun control, abortion, and Palestine.

The first is particularly poignant, given the most recent school shooting in America, where two teachers and two children were tragically shot dead in Apalachee High School, in Georgia.

I was shocked to learn that more children in America die from gun violence than from any other reason. More kids die in America from gun violence than from road accidents, or from cancer.

The first time I read it, I was convinced this was not statistically possible in a country of 333 million people. But I checked and double checked. It’s true.

In discussing gun violence, comedian Jim Jeffries had a memorable bit where he compared America and its ongoing problems with Australia’s experience.

After the Port Arthur shooting in 1996 where 35 people were killed, Australia tightened its gun laws extensively.

In the 18 years before Port Arthur, there were 13 gun-caused homicides in which five or more people died. For 22 years after, there were none. From 2018 to the present, there have been two.

In the US, it’s a different story. In just the nine months of this year, there have been 45 school shootings, leading to 23 deaths. This is mind-boggling.

American public opinion has shown increasing support for tighter gun laws. And yet the pro-gun lobby’s influence over the Republican party through organisations like the National Rifle Association (NRA) keeps making it harder and harder to pass common sense gun laws.

The issue of gun control has some similarities to the issue of abortion.

Abortion is an extremely loaded topic in America, where many pro-lifers talk about this issue in highly moralising terms, which may cause some to feel shame for taking pro-choice positions.

However, when Donald Trump-appointed Supreme Court judges overturned Roe vs Wade via the Dobbs decision, thus opening the door for many Republican-led states to enact varying degrees of abortion bans, the backlash against Republicans at the ballot box was severe.

There were six referendums with regards to preserving or expanding abortion access, and all six were passed, including in states that were considered extremely Republican.

The question of reproductive freedoms is again an extremely hot topic in the 2024 presidential elections as well, with support among women voters for candidate Kamala Harris far exceeding support for Trump.

Why do Republicans support something that is so obviously deeply unpopular?

Where the gun lobby has disproportional influence in the issue of gun control, there also appears to be a disproportionate amount of influence regarding abortion wielded by the far religious right in the Republican party.

Trump himself has had to flip flop in his positions on abortion, trying desperately to balance the strong influence of Republican pro-lifers versus actual public sentiment.

On the issue of Palestine, we are also seeing vast numbers of Americans protest against the genocide in Gaza – far more than we are seeing support for these war crimes. And yet, neither Republicans nor Democrats seem to even consider stopping America from selling Israel the bombs that are landing on Palestinian heads.

Perhaps the most disappointing part of Harris’ acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention recently was when she spoke about the issue of Palestine, where she painted Israel as the victim under some sort of relentless attack.

She did convey some sympathy for Palestinians, but to hear her speak of it, one would think that the Palestinians were suffering from a flood or some natural disaster, not purposeful, merciless bombardment and murder at the hands of Zionists.

In this matter, the most famous pro-Zionist political organisation is called AIPAC – an organisation which openly donates millions and millions to politicians from both sides in efforts to perpetrate pro-Zionist agendas.

Their access to funding is greatly disproportionate to the numbers of Americans who support their agenda and beliefs, and thus, so is their influence in the political sphere.

What we are seeing in 2024 however, is that money will only go so far. Most American politicians are still not outspoken enough, but they are definitely taking more nuanced positions due to the mass pro-Palestinian protests.

In all three cases above, we are looking at the will of the masses being twisted, turned, and bent from its rightful path by the gravity of big money and disproportionate influence.

The good news is, in all three cases above, we are seeing the arc bend back towards justice – at least a little bit at a time.

Trump’s positions in many of the issues above, his farcical ridiculousness, and his complete willingness to dance to the tune of his fellow billionaires is going to cost him these elections.

Barring any major changes between now and November, I predict a landslide victory for Harris – driven in large part by the votes of women and youth.

For the rest of us around the world watching, the key lesson to learn here is: Stop taking political positions just to pander to a small minority in your own political parties.

Instead, remember that ultimately, you will always go further when you genuinely champion the true desires and aspirations of your voters.

Nathaniel Tan is a strategic communications consultant. He can be reached at [e-mail]. The views expressed here are solely his own.