AFTER his well publicised meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, US President Joe Biden, in response to a question from a US reporter about President Xi, said: ‘Well, look, he is a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that is based on a form of government totally different than ours.’

An interesting perspective for the leader of the free world to take, as it seems to indicate the US’ position is that countries should not have the right to operate a political system that is different from the US and its Western Allies. It is a strange position to maintain while emphasising and promoting ‘freedom of choice’. Or is it only considered freedom of choice when one is adopting Western political norms and Western culture?

The observation is made even more interesting when one considers the fact that the Chinese population overwhelmingly believe China is a democracy. That is why to date there has been no ‘democratic revolution’ in China by its citizens. One historical reason for this political phenomenon is the presence of ‘peopleoriented (minben)’ thought in traditional Chinese political culture, which emphasises governance ‘for the people’, rather than government ‘by the people’.

That observation aside, when 13 members of the 15-member UN Security Council (UNSC) voted unanimously for a resolution calling for a ceasefire to be implemented on Israel’s war on Gaza, the US used its veto power against the council’s majority decision. That single act by the US ultimately allows Israel to continue its most merciless and inhumane military decimation of the Palestinian people.

Ironically, the 13 UNSC members who voted for the resolution included three other permanent membersnamely, France, Russia and China. This then begs the question: how is it that the dictator of a communist country could be more in tune with the global community, in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, given the share scale of destruction, suffering and killing of Palestinians, but the president of the world’s largest democracy instructed his ambassador to the UN to veto the resolution?

Given these circumstances, can one truly say democracy is a superior political system? And what exactly are the tenants of democracy? Is it that democracy is only applicable at the domestic nation level?

Dictionary.com gives the following definition of democracy: ‘Government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or their elected agents under a free electoral system.’

Recent Gallop Poll numbers confirm 67% of Americans under age 35 oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza, while progressive think tank Data for Progress, released a polling stating 61% of Americans overall support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

These poll results explain Joe Biden’s plummeting popularity amongst American voters, because America’s representatives to the UN are acting contrary to the desires and spirit of a majority of the American population-ie, their constituents.

Considering that the governments of most countries, the majority of which are democracies, passed national laws for the creation, recognition and operation of the UN, then does that not make the UN a product of democracy and a democratic organisation? And if the UN is a democratic organisation, should the UN and its members not conduct themselves in a democratic manner?

Why, then, is the US championing democratic values while conducting itself like an international dictator?

Consider this analogy. An extraterrestrial being, who is the leader of another planet’s most formidable country, comes to Planet Earth tomorrow for a one-on-one meeting with President Biden, who is the leader of the country that is internationally recognised as Planet Earth’s most influential and formidable superpowerie, the US.

Unlike Planet Earth, this other planet has a planetary political system where no country has veto power irrespective of military strength.

The meeting between these two intergalactic leaders takes place around the same time the US vetoed the overwhelming 13/86.66% UN Security member ceasefire vote.

That extraterrestrial being, upon his return to his planet, is asked by a reporter what he thinks about Joe Biden, President of the US and socalled leader of the free world, and how he operates as the leader of Planet Earth’s most formidable country.

What can that extraterrestrial leader say to his planet’s media about President Joe Biden, other than, ‘Well, look, he is a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a planet that is an imperialistic planet, that is based on a form of planetary government totally different than ours’?

It appears democracy as we know it is a figment of our global imaginations. If collectively as global citizens, we cannot in majority have free and fair elections at the UN, to vote on crucial binding resolutions like ending a war that has killed over 18,000 Palestinians, of which over 7,000 are children, without a dictatorial entity overruling that majority vote, then we have to face reality.

The reality is we do not live on a democratic planet. We live on a feudal and imperialistic planet, where the will of the wealthy military super powers is harshly imposed on the weaker nations, with often disastrous consequences to the citizens of that weaker nation and the environment and ecosystems of that weaker nation.

Because of this, I believe aliens are too smart to even contemplate visiting Planet Earth.

Oke Zachary