People in Africa, Latin America and Asia may look at the moral side of the discussion between Trump and his opponents in the USA and Europe with some skepticism.
Many of us feel comfortable believing that this is a battle
of Trump against democracy, and that democracy is synonymous with Europe and
even with the true American values, which Trump is betraying. The American Revolution was the first political application of the European-born Illustration and its protagonists were descendants of Europeans.
But the betrayal of the supposed American values of freedom
and democracy took place much before the arrival of Trump. Racial
discrimination, support of human rights violations, political corruption, are
phenomena that did not have to wait for Trump.
What is true is that what is happening now is a serious step
back in time in all fronts, and a very serious threat to democracy and public
goods in general, from the quality of public servants to the promotion of
science. But I think that the argument that Trump is betraying American values
will not find many sympathizers beyond the USA and even among some sectors in
the USA, such as the black or native American population.
Something similar could be said about “European values.” I
am tempted to say that we score better on democracy and human rights, at least
since the creation of the European Union and its predecessor institutions. But
the economic development of Western Europe was built at least in part from
colonialism and slavery. Even these days, the behavior of our leaders on issues
such as immigration and refugees, or the genocide in Gaza and apartheid in the
West Bank, is in contradiction with any positive moral values.
If we have to oppose the Trump administration on moral
grounds, and we have to, we must be aware of our imperfections.
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