Edited by Jasmine Ryu Won Kang
In our democratic society, it is fair to say that most people have a favorite politician within the political party that they vote for, but to what extent should we be idolizing our favorites? In the past US election, we saw an example of what can happen when people idolize a politician so much that they will commit illegal acts on their behalf, so it should get us thinking about when we are crossing the line in our admiration. Just because we are satisfied with the results of an election should not get us to ignore the fact that politicians are not perfect people all of the time, which is why we cannot idolize them as much as we recently have.
When people idolize politicians, they tend to show way more devotion than necessary. In my opinion, this should be the opposite – our politicians should be more devoted to creating a better society for us than us being devoted to them and their beliefs. Us being this devoted to our politicians as if they are an ordinary celebrity can cloud our judgment and perception of their policies. For example, people idolizing Justin Trudeau in Canada for his young age and good hair can get them to ignore the crucial fact that he has not taken the largest stance on Canada’s racial issues, but because these people are so devoted to his looks and age, it’s almost like he could do no wrong. Having this thought process that politicians can do no wrong just because of who they are is a threat to a country’s growth and sense of improvement.
Idolizing politicians can also encourage us to believe in fiction and not facts. In the recent US election, Trump convinced his followers to falsely believe that the election results were rigged to the point that people went in droves to polling stations across the country to protest the count on his behalf. This phenomenon took place because Trump has such a large following of supporters who idolize him as if he is a god that they believe that whatever he says must be true without doing their own research. It is essential for the sake of our democracy that we respect our politicians but are also able to step back and use facts to hold them accountable for their mistakes and to encourage them to make changes.
We need to remember that supporting a political party is not equivalent to joining a cult. When we support a certain group, we are stating that we are supporting their values, policies, and what they stand for, but we are not saying that we are going to give up our whole livelihood to the group and act like no other alternatives exist. In politics, just because we support certain parties does not mean that everything about that party is perfect. Some political parties in North America present great social justice values but on the other hand, they may be terrible at ensuring that taxpayer money is actually going to the correct places. If we stop seeing political party support as joining a cult then we are further able to step back and make wiser choices regarding who we are actually electing.
In our society, if we wish to solve modern-day problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic and racial and social justice, it is crucial that we respect our politicians enough to elect them but not go overboard and admire them in the same way that we do celebrities. We need to keep ensuring that our judgment is never too clouded to the point that we are unable to step back and demand change. If we keep idolizing politicians and perceiving them as perfect humans who can never do any wrong, then less will be accomplished and our country will not move forward.