Don “Orfeo” Rechtman THE Trump-incited attack on the Capitol was not just an attack on the U.S. democracy; it is a warning shot to all forms of democracy. Around the year 390 Socrates warned the Western world of the dangers of a citizen’s democracy, and now the U.S. version has borne out his concerns. But we didn’t have to wait for Trump for us to discover this great fault in a citizen’s democracy. History has numerous examples, the most infamous (until now!) being that of Germany’s election in 1938, in which Hermann G?ring, an associate of a previously convicted criminal, was elected as a figurehead, thanks in great part to voter intimidation, disenfranchisement and that criminal’s takeover of the country in 1936. Thus Adolf Hitler took rule of a nation that had a Western style of democracy foisted upon it after Germany lost World War I, and we all know how well that worked out. Even earlier! In the 1700s the French writer Voltaire observed to Catharine the Great of Russia that, “Almost nothing great has ever been done in the world except by the genius and firmness of a single man combating the prejudices of the multitude.” He considered democracy as something not to be trusted; he saw it as propagating the “idiocy of the masses.” And of course, all the way back to Athens: the Senate model of ancient Greece is to this day the model of the current U.S. democracy: the so-called representatives consist of wealthy white men (and more recently, more and more wealthy white women), along with a condescending smattering of more progressive voices that are necessary to create the illusion that their democracy is working for everyone. And we just learned how well that worked out. In very sharp contrast, China’s democracy is one with Chinese characteristics – some may call it Socrates’ democracy: the representatives who make the national and international rules and laws have been groomed from childhood and beyond to place people first, above money, above power, above pride. As a consequence, China is gaining power, pride, and money, but is utilizing it all to provide first and foremost for the people. Please note that the Party is not a political party in the general sense; rather, it is a body of people who have voluntarily committed themselves to representing the people and to keeping up to date with national and international issues. The Chinese system of “checks and balances” rests upon the membership continuously monitoring all members to ensure they maintain allegiance to the principles of loyalty to meeting the needs of the people. Considering the level of sedition participation by Trump, his family members and cohorts, it might be appropriate for China to join with the growing number of global individuals and corporations who are cutting ties with Trump. This might include discontinuing manufacturing for Trump brand products, and possibly even revoking government-issued trademarks and IPR protections to Trump and his associates. In the States, the enemy is within; in China, the enemy is overseas. Just as Germany and Japan made desperate attempts to deflect their own economic failures in the 1930s by attacking other nations, China still has reason to fear Trump in the last few days of his presidency for the same reason. Some of the members of the U.S. Congress share similar fears; it remains to be seen if enough of them have the foresight to disassociate Trump from presidential power. (The author is a voting citizen from Chico, California, currently residing in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. His personal website is www.OrfeoMusic.org.) | 