The recently concluded US Midterm elections have turned many heads, not the least of which were political prognosticators and pundits who had sung the dirge of the Democratic Party and fearfully awaited resurgence of fascist politics. Happily, they have been wrong on both counts.
Not only the politics that was born from the coat-tailing of Donald Trump was thrashed by voters, they also voted to keep at least one house in the Congress (Senate) under Democratic control.
These results are far from the doomsday scenario painted by the political pundits even a few days before the elections.
This is what happens when real people embark into politics by taking control from the bombastic politicians and armchair political analysts.
This is what happens when democracy is at work, and no one is prevented from expressing their voting rights by putting their voice to their actions.
The defeat of Donald Trump in 2020 brought into fore forces that have been on the fringe of politics, articulating conspiracy theories that propagate impending demise of white majority, foreign domination, evaporation of Christianity, and taking over of government by liberals through unchecked immigration.
There have been various groups that had so long existed as cults but were encouraged by Donald Trump's rhetoric on immigration, minorities, and foreign alliances that even questioned US support for long held relationships with the United Nations, NATO, and other nations and organizations.
But he finally opened the Pandora's Box with his infamous rally of January 6, 2021, near the White House where he capped his refusal to accept his defeat in the hands of Joe Biden with his war cry to his supporters to march to the Capitol to stop the formal counting of electoral college votes.
Officially he asked his followers to protest the election results which according to him were fraudulent, but what he actually wanted was for his followers to literally stop the counting of votes.
His followers, majority of whom belonged to the fringe groups mentioned above, obliged by not only marching to the Capitol but also by entering the premises by force and attacking police physically.
The world was aghast by seeing such unheard-of assault on the most sacrosanct institution while the sitting president, Donald Trump, sat silent in the White House making nary a move to stop his supporters from this heinous attack.
Fortunately, the marauding supporters were finally repulsed, and the counting of the ballots was completed, sealing the ouster of Donald Trump.
But all of this costly melodrama would have been unnecessary had Donald Trump accepted the election results immediately after the presidential elections the previous November. But he did not because he was not a believer in the democratic process.
He and the cults he had promoted were election deniers. They don't believe in the power of ballots, in the power of people to change leaders they do not want, and elect people they like.
But democracy is not somebody's pet project where they can change rules as they like. Democracy is people power in action.
There has been no doubt about democracy in the US since the founding of the country and the incorporation of the inalienable rights of people in the country's constitution -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
No matter which government or which party has come to power over the last 280 years, these rights have been integral to governance.
No government, no party has ever attempted to take away or curtail these rights. If there was any threat ever, the three branches of government -- Congress, Executive (President), and the Judiciary -- have each assured that any attempt by any of the branches to scale back or shortchange people on any of these rights is prevented.
The nefarious attempt by Trump fringe groups on January 6, 2021 was viewed by all as such an attempt, and was prevented.
Yet, the appearance of these groups and their attempt at thwarting democracy were threats that were fearfully viewed by people as portents that might hurt democracy in the US.
It was feared that supporters or sympathizers of such groups and their ideology might prevail by their attempts to sneak into mainstream politics by manipulating voters and taking seats in the Congress or local legislatures.
This way they would increase their tribal strength and finally kill democracy as we know it.
The threats were seen in the success of election-deniers in party politics, particularly right politics, and the perpetual drum beat of their cheerleader Donald Trump.
The apparent weakness of the Republican party to ward off the insidious intrusion of the extreme right and their cheerleader into mainstream politics was also causing dismay and fear in many quarters of unfettered continuance of democratic values in the country.
Therefore, the voice of doom and grim prognostication about Republican takeover of the Congress came about.
But ultimately it did not happen. Democracy proved it is more powerful as a tool than fear-mongering and empty rhetoric of political opportunists and anti-people forces.
People spoke in large numbers and voted to be represented by people of their choice, people they can trust, people who will keep their inalienable rights intact.
It takes a lot to keep democracy at work, but it takes very little to destroy it. A single person or a determined group of people can destroy hundreds of years of hard work and institution in a heartbeat if they get the chance.
And that chance is ironically given by us, the people, when we make a wrong choice.
Democracy is a way to make that choice, but it works when everyone understands and participates in it.
The midterm elections brought success to the Democratic party so far largely because people took part. This will be so for all other countries including Bangladesh if people take part. Going forward that will be my hope.
Ziauddin Choudhury has worked in the higher civil service of Bangladesh early in his career, and later for the World Bank in the US.
