Of Despots and Crackpots
If dictators and autocrats trigger emotionally-complicated responses from the world, it probably has something to do with being simultaneously loathsome and laughable. Trying to find the right response to these dangerous crackpots is enough to give anyone emotional whiplash.
Some kind of whiplash was certainly happening, for example, when the world first learned about the propaganda lunacy of Kim Jong-il of North Korea years ago. The Supreme Leader apparently wanted his birth story dressed in nothing short of a messianic narrative. His humble arrival to the planet, the state-sponsored story went, was heralded by a special glowing star and a big old double rainbow. It was a laughable and ludicrous claim. What was gravely undeniable, however, was that this mortal man was dressed in some pretty frightening military and nuclear power. And there was little that was funny about that. It was, in the words of one Western journalist “the most grotesque personality cult in the world”. An entire nation, it seemed, held hostage by the lies, fear, terrorism and ruthless oppression of one very small and evil man. (Dressed in a leisure suit with very ridiculous hair.)
Last month at a Moscow sports arena the world again had to look on confusedly at the absurdist theater of another autocrat. Never mind messianic overtones, Putin was directly hijacking the words of Jesus himself to somehow serve his actions in Ukraine. “Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for His friends” went the John 15 citation in Putin’s speech. That a head of state would think a Biblical text on sacrificial love might be good invasion-rally material was nothing short of jarring.
By some estimates the world is now home to over 50 dictators (military or single-party autocrats, authoritarians, depots). And according to Freedom House, an 80 year-old organization dedicated to reporting on civil liberties and political rights, only 20% of the world’s population now lives in a “fully free” country. That is a number that has been consistently sliding since 2008, leading Larry Diamond, a Democracy expert from Stanford to declare that the world is in a “Democratic Recession”.
Any research you care to do on history’s nasty fellas at the top is not a pleasant day at the library. It is (pardon the expression) a rather troubling freak show of some of the most unsavory portraits of humanity. Their behavior runs the full gamut from bizarre eccentricities to amorality, from self-delusions to exploitative ugliness. But if there are some personality disorders they can be solidly counted on to all have in common, psychologists tell us, it is their inclination for narcissism, paranoia and, yes, even sadism. As accurate as Lord Acton’s popular quote is on the corrupting influence of power, you can’t help but wonder if he was being a bit polite.
All of which asks (screams, really) the age-old question: Does authoritarian power create villains or does the job merely attract them? While that might be an interesting academic question, history’s lesson does not seem to be ambiguous: prolonged, unchecked, solitary power is fertile ground for megalomania. Let a guy marinade in power and eventually he seems more interesting in amassing Rolls Royces, embezzling millions, raising cougars or buying 500 foot super yachts than in serving his country.
It is usually around this point that I circle back to another quote regarding power, this from my favorite author John Steinbeck. (Maybe he’s not the foremost authority on politics, but he was no slouch on the subject of human nature): “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts…perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” Which might remind us of another important tenet of democracy — the towering importance of term limits.
Both Russia and China’s leaders have now officially rewritten their constitution to prolong or abolish term limits. Putin, after some successful political maneuvering, is now poised to potentially rule close to 40 years. Xi Jinping, after overturning his country’s term limits in 2018 can apparently stay in office indefinitely. And this leads to another lesson that (weary) history must apparently teach the world over and over again: That preservation of power is not a pretty thing to look at. Find a protracted, decades-long head of state, and chances are that life in the palace looks more like organized crime that organized government: suppression of the opposition, violence, and even targeted assassinations.
I do believe the news of Ukraine was upstaged only once in recent days. It was in regard to Tom Brady’s return to football and extending that record-long career of his. It might concern us more that there are autocrats out there going for records of the likes of Fidel Castro. (50 years?!)
Keep praying for Ukraine.
