Biggest Threat To Democracy Is Indifference: Barack Obama

Former United States President Barack Obama on Friday, during a speech at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, raised concerns over the threat to democracy and said “these are extraordinary times, and they’re dangerous times.” 

Obama said, “Our democracy is you. What’s going to fix our democracy is you. People ask me what are you going to do for elections. No. The question is, what are you going to do?” 

Obama emphasised on the role of every citizen in preserving the democracy. “You’re the antidote – Your participation and your spirit and your determination – not just in this election, but in every coming election. And in the days between the elections.” 

He continued, “In the end, the threat to this democracy doesn’t just come with Donald Trump or current pack of Republicans in the Congress, the Koch brothers and their lobbyists or too much compromise from Democrats or Russian hacking. The biggest threat to our democracy is indifference.” 

Obama also criticised the people in power for creating an atmosphere of fear, “Every two steps forward, seems to bring us one step back. Each time we painstakingly pull ourselves close to our founding ideas..that all of us are created equal..the ideals that say every child should have an opportunity and every man and woman should be able to find a job and support their family..somewhere somebody is pushing back..” 

He continued, “Sometimes, the backlash comes from people who are genuinely and strongly fearful of change. Or more often it is manufactured by the powerful who want to keep us cynical, keep us angry because it helps them keep status quo and keep their power.” 

Attacking the current US President Donald Trump, Obama said, “It did not start with Donald Trump, he is a symptom, not the cause. He is just capitalizing on resentment that politicians have been fanning for years. A fear, an anger that is rooted in our past but is also borne in our enormous upheavals that have taken place in your brief lifetimes.” 

“Just a glance at recent headlines should tell you this moment really is different,” Obama said. “The stakes really are higher. The consequences of any of us sitting on the sidelines are more dire.” He later added, “This is not normal.”   

Obama urgedyoung voters to show up at the polls and vote because “the best way to protest is to vote.”