Present in today’s political discourse are attempts by the left to bemoan the right’s increasing “discretization” of democracy, while they simultaneously demonize the increasing populist energy on the right—a form of hyper-focused democracy. At face value, pointing this out is simply restating the left’s drive for more power in whichever manipulated way they can attain it. However, while pointless to point out the apparent hypocrisy, it is helpful to observe as to why the left hates this populist energy, as well as to gain a better understanding of what the energy is all about.
At its most local level rightwing populism is prominently found within school board meetings. We’ve all seen clips of angry parents attending these meetings berating the school board over what their children are being taught. And their indignation is justifiable, righteous even. All over the country kids are being indoctrinated in the idea that being born white is an original sin. That even 8 year olds are complicit in the manufactured facade of “systemic racism.”
As the puppeteers of “systemic racism,” it is easy to see why the left would hate an energy behind tearing it down at its roots. But what of the right’s increasing awareness of these indoctrinations, as well as its seemingly newfound gumption to do something about it?
Part of this answer can be found in the ramping up of how in your face these schools have become in claiming that the parents have no say in the education of their children, which of course results in an equally amped up reaction. But I believe there is a subconscious abstraction at play with the right here as well.
In 2016 Trump’s main rallying cry became immigration; The Wall, when distilled down further. And while it is true that those who this message resonated with truly did believe in the reasons given—“they’re taking our jobs”; “living off the government dole”; “infiltrating the culture”—there was a deeper theme not always hit on, one that is also present within these school board meetings: an attempt to create or maintain borders and boundaries where the left actively seeks to tear them down.
Borders—both physical and non—might be the best distinguisher between right and left. GK Chesterton said, “When tearing down any fence, always pause long enough to ask why it was put there in the first place.” In many cases, the left knows why a fence has been built and still proceeds to tear it down, as they attempt to create a more chaotic and borderless world. The right, though not always great at eloquently stating why, still believes in leaving up fences—to protect their cultures; their homes; their faith; and, as has been on prominent display as of late, their children.
Populism is never an ends, though, and can only be used as a means. The energy is not sustainable. When the left engages in a form of egalitarian populism, their activism eventually trends toward bureaucratic and HR-led forms of power. Populism on the right, however, typically trends in another direction, away from bureaucracy and instead to a singular will to power. Knowing this, then, it’s important to know what wills need to be built up, bent, or broken, so that the outcome of these wills result in power that’s worth wielding.