The Road To WWIII: The Rise Of The Dictators!
According to Merriam-Webster, a dictatorship is “a form of government in which absolute power is concentrated in a dictator or a small ‘clique’; a government organization or group in which absolute power is so concentrated.” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dictatorship)
The world atlas lists the following as some of the deadliest dictators in history:
1. Mao Zedong (Maoist Catastrophe, 1949-76) 47,263,517 killed
2. Adolf Hitler (Nazi Holocaust, 1939-45) 13,674,790 killed
3. Joseph Stalin (Stalinist Terror, 1922-52) 13,038,405 killed
4. Chiang Kai-shek (The Nationalist Era, 1928 – 1946) 10,511,124 killed
5. King Leopold II (Congolese Holocaust, 1885-1908) 10,488,090 killed
6. Hirohito & Others (Imperial Japanese Oppression, 1895-1945) 9,317,081 killed
(https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-deadliest-dictator-regimes-in-history.html)
According to The Borgen Project, there are currently eight dictators in 2018: Kim Jong-un (North Korea), Pierre Nkurunziza (Burundi), Nicolás Maduro (Nicaragua), Bashar Al-Assad (Syria), Idriss Déby (Chad), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkey), and, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (Equatorial Guinea).
However, if we concentrate on the second part of the definition, then China, Cuba, Iran and Russia among others must be added to the list:
— The incumbent Xi Jinping, became dictator of China following a peaceful transition when the popular Hu Jintao retired in 2012. Since that time, he has beefed up China’s military and accelerated the creation of islands in the South China Sea in a bid to control the entire region militarily. The 900 billion dollar new Silk Road Project (Belt & Road Initiative) is an attempt to control the trade routes into other parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Recently, Xi was voted in for ‘life’ bucking the trend of ‘collected leadership’ in China since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. Mao oversaw the disastrous Maoist Catastrophe that killed over 47 million people.
— Since 1959, Cuba has had two dictators – Fidel Castro and Raul Castro. Recently, in a probable transition into retirement, the 87-year-old dictator has handed the presidency to 58-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel. It remains to be seen whether this island nation can continue to survive as a communist state. However, when the U.S. disconnected in 2017, Cuba resumed its trade ties with Russia and has also sought assistance from China.
— Since the Islamic revolution that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979, only two men have ruled Iran: Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei. According to the United States, Israel and other countries, Iran has exported or funded terrorism around the world. Iran is one of six Theocracies in 2018. The others are Yemen, Vatican City, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Mauritania.
— In Russia, Vladimir Putin was just recently elected to his fourth term of office. However, he’s been the de facto dictator of Russia since 1999. According to Russian Chess Champion Garry Kasparov and many others, Putin is one of the most dangerous men in the world. Under his watch: Russia illegally seized the Crimea; has protected the regime of Syrian dictator Al-Assad; continues warring in western Ukraine; and, has had Russians assassinated domestically and around the world. He has also been accused of manipulating political races in the United States and other countries. Finally, Putin is also a racist.
Then we have President Trump’s ‘infatuation’ with Putin. According to an article in the Washington Post:
“And, of course, President Trump — the man with the inexplicable Putin infatuation — has notoriously celebrated the Russian president as a “strong leader.” And members of the Republican Party are faithfully following his lead. A poll last year found that 49 percent of Trump supporters believed Russia to be either a friend or an ally of the United States — despite a growing amount of evidence the Kremlin interfered in American politics. Last year, during the furor over Roy Moore, a Senate candidate from Alabama, one Republican official declared: “If I’ve got a choice of putting my welfare into the hands of Putin or The Washington Post, Putin wins every time.” Putin is the avatar of tribalism.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2018/05/08/how-vladimir-putin-became-the-worlds-favorite-dictator/?utm_term=.0a82ba556f2f)
As a Mexican/American, I am also concerned with what is going on in both Mexico and the United States in 2018. In a landslide, Mexico just voted in a populist socialist as president-elect. Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador is the first politician in Mexican history that was not from either the PRI or PAN parties. After enduring one of the worst presidential terms of office in modern Mexican history under Enrique Pena Nieto, fed up Mexicans may just allow Lopez-Obrador a ‘free rein’ to make changes ‘en masse’ in this great country. Unfortunately, the ‘legion’ of problems and working with the long entrenched ‘establishment’ politicians and business tycoons might take longer than the single six year term of office that Lopez-Obrador will be allowed under the current Mexican Constitution.
If he is truly ‘for the people’ and does even a credible job of enhancing the quality of life for the average Mexican, Lopez-Obrador might just become the first modern president to be allowed multiple terms of office. If he does a terrible job, then revolution might ignite in Mexico once again. After all, the long-suffering populace will only take so much before they will finally act. Approximately 70% of Mexican citizens make less than $400 per month. This represents about 1/3 of what an American makes at minimum wage.
In the United States, the big question is whether We the People will allow this historical ‘democratic beacon of freedom’ to fall after 242 years in existence. In my opinion, freedom’s downfall has been in the works since outgoing Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned Americans about the ‘Military/Industrial Complex’. Since the Gulf War and the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the U.S. Government has practically given the Armaments Industry a ‘blank check’. In fact fellow Kansan, former Secretary of Defense and Eisenhower admirer Robert Gates has said:
“Does the number of warships we have, and are building, really put America at risk, when the U.S. battle fleet is larger than the next 13 navies combined — 11 of which are our partners and allies?
Is it a dire threat that by 2020, the United States will have only 20 times more advanced stealth fighters than China?
These are the kinds of questions Eisenhower asked as commander-in-chief. They are the kinds of questions I believe he would ask today.” (https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942244/ikes-warning-of-military-expansion-50-years-later)
Filmmaker Michael Moore has already predicted that the incumbent Donald Trump will be the last president of the United States of America: “”Ladies and gentlemen, the last president of the United States,” Moore says in a voiceover as Trump stares into the camera.”
Continuing on, Moore pointed out: “American journalism schools have not trained students how to cover an authoritarian leader,” Moore told the online media outlet. “Our media has no idea what it is up against. They’re getting steamrolled by a tyrant because Trump understands media and understands the country he lives in more than those that cover him do. This puts us all in grave danger.”
“If nothing else, I hope this film exposes that grave danger and shows people the way out,” Moore said.” (http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/401080-michael-moore-calls-trump-the-last-president-of-the-united-states-in-new)
Two political scientists and Harvard professors Steven Lebitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have weighed in on the danger that Donald Trump represents:
“Two political scientists specializing in how democracies decay and die have compiled four warning signs to determine if a political leader is a dangerous authoritarian:
1. The leader shows only a weak commitment to democratic rules. 2. He or she denies the legitimacy of opponents. 3. He or she tolerates violence. 4. He or she shows some willingness to curb civil liberties or the media.
“A politician who meets even one of these criteria is cause for concern,” Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, both professors at Harvard, write in their important new book, “How Democracies Die” which will be released next week.
“With the exception of Richard Nixon, no major-party presidential candidate met even one of these four criteria over the last century,” they say, which sounds reassuring. Unfortunately, they have one update: “Donald Trump met them all.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/10/opinion/trumps-how-democracies-die.html)
In my opinion, Donald Trump is either an ‘evil genius’ or is an egotistical incompetent. One way to look at it is that he may be the last American president and first American dictator. Arguably, this is what he craves. Or there is even a scenario that is far, far worse if that is possible. President Trump may leave the U.S. at home and abroad in such ‘shambles’ that he is forced to resign – well after it is too late. Afterwards, current Vice President Michael Richard Pence may be left to pick up the pieces. I shudder to think of what this ultra conservative who has done little to stand up to the Trump Administration the last several years would be like as president. I wonder if his silence wasn’t by design all along. As a Son of the American Revolution, I hope that We The People will sweep the ‘wild bunch’ out of the White House in a way that is legal and honorable.
In conclusion, we live in a world that is becoming more complicated and dangerous by the day. As I get older, life’s experience tells me that I have few answers to the turbulent sea of ‘complicated problems’ all around me. However as a writer I cannot let my ancestors and their comrades down. From the American Revolutionary War through World War II, they fought and spilled their blood so that I can speak my mind today without fear of retribution, imprisonment or even death at the hands of a dictator.
We must each do our part to stop this madness before it is too late. We owe it to our ancestors and to our children and to future generations. May God bless the United States of America – land of the free and home of the brave! Viva Mexico!
Anthony Cota
Simple Living 