5 NOVEMBER 2020 - 10:00AM PST - COUNTRY: [UNDEFINED]
The leader of the country—a cruel, self-centered dullard, propped up by dynastic money and corruption—attacks democracy in an effort to stay in office.
A walk along the streets yields little to see. Storefronts are boarded up, and roadways are cordoned off in anticipation of election violence. The graffiti on the boards hints at a desperate call for recognition and equality—a sign of the racial and ethnic division the leader sows.
Large fences are under construction around the leader’s residence, once a symbol of the people, and at the country’s border, once a symbol of acceptance. Nearby, thousands of children are crammed in jails, guilty of being born to those seeking the hope the country stood for.
The deadly disease hit a record on election day: more than one hundred thousand new cases. The leader politicized disease response. Better to lie and obfuscate than be threatened by something as puny as a virus. Optics and ratings are more important than lives and reality. Science is the opposition’s game. The leader prefers bluster. Damn the people. Let them die.
Like so many countries flirting with authoritarianism before, raw power and fear are the currency that matters. Open contempt for democracy, laws, institutions, and truth is acceptable.
Nearly half the country wants more of this. Votes continue to be counted, despite the leader and his party’s attacks. They threaten the counters and push challenges through the court system. The country hangs on a knife-edge. Which way will it go?