Donald Trump was elected as President of the United States in November 2016 with a slim majority; numerous allegations were made against him, both personal and political. Theresa May was appointed as British Prime Minister post-Brexit in July 2016; half a year of campaigning to remain in the EU crumbled around David Cameron, triggering his resignation. Both of these scenarios are symbolic of the ways in which democracy as we know it is becoming an increasingly distant concept, and its meaning blurred. With the political landscape increasingly becoming dominated by uncertainty for posterity; unfaithfulness of politicians, and unprecedented opposition, the coast becomes clearer and clearer for individuals such as Piers Morgan to spark controversy. Morgan is usually under fire on social media for attacking various contemporary issues, the latest declaration of his being his account of ‘raging feminists’ and the Women’s March.
“Well sorry, sisters: democracy means that Donald Trump won”, Morgan stated with an air of superiority on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday morning. He began the discussion by declaring himself a ‘feminist’ before he proceeded to denounce the ‘raging feminists’ who took to the streets to publicly denounce Trump and reject his Presidency. To suggest that democracy itself must include the unquestioned, consolidated support of 100% of the public reverses the point of democracy to begin with. It is undemocratic to maintain that each and every member of every group in society must declare their undying love and support for the leader of their country. Democracy itself encompasses the right to protest and speak of one’s own democratic opinion; for the millions of women, or ‘raging feminists’, as Morgan has helpfully pointed out, they did everything within their democratic right to protest against Trump’s inauguration.
Figures have demonstrated that the Women’s March was one of the largest demonstrations in history. History will remember the brave men and women who refused to accept defeat. It will remember the mothers who stood up for the future of their daughters; the brothers who stood up for their sisters, as well as for themselves; the grandmothers who protested in the 1960s and who continue to protest in 2017. It will remember the 3.3 million who protested over 500 cities all over America, and it will remember the 100,000 who protested in London.
Morgan’s contentious statement on the democracy behind Trump’s victory and the ‘raging feminists’ who have since rejected him might, in fact, teach us a lot about the value of democracy and the power it wields. Democracy is one of the key cogs in the machine of humanity, and it is down to the way that society acts now to shape history’s account of the state of the democracy that elected Trump. Our protests; our Women’s Marches, and our public declaration of our democratic right to protest and resist are all vital elements to ensuring that history remembers us as the fighters, and Trump and his Republicans as the losers. The democracy that elected Donald Trump will be the very same democracy that will fight until the right wing is defeated. The right wing was defeated in the 1940s, and the right wing will be defeated now. Democracy comes in waves, and this version of democracy certainly won’t remain forever.
Eleanor Noyce
(Image courtesy of Lifestyle)