Are you tired of boring politicians with all the fake promises they never redeem? Are you tired of waiting for social changes? Are you tired of how inefficient our society is? Beyond running for elections, we look at ways to make the country “better” as dictators. In this blog post, I want to share what I have learned about authoritarianism in the “Don’t be a DICtator project.”
About the project
The final products for this project are slideshows and debates. For this project, Dries and I were Canadian dictators taking over Canada during the pandemic. Choosing Canada to take over was interesting because you are challenging one of the most democratic political systems globally. But it was truly shocking, depressing, and almost terrifying after you researched all the feasible ways to execute your dictator dream. From locking down the border to controlling media, there’s virtually nothing you can’t do as the Prime Minister of Canada. See the below slides for an example:
Driving Questions
How can we use a speech to explore the threat posed by authoritarian rule?
As the dictator in the debate, I have sparked emotions of anger, fear, and hatred that will justify my actions as we unite to fight against “our enemy.” Understanding the dictator’s perspective helps me better understand how well our thoughts and emotions can be manipulated and controlled. Through speech research, I realized common tactics: instilling anger, fear, and hatred in our minds. Exploiting our feelings and perspectives creates a sense of urgency and desperation among the masses, thus turning us into machines and tools for their ambitions. To them, we are sheep waiting to be slaughtered after being used.
Some Insights and Thinking Inspired
Political Party, Beliefs, & Divisions
(Picture Source)
Although we are different from one another, why do we hate each other?
For some unknown reasons, talking about politics always creates tension among us. Political debates turn citizens into “one of them” and “one of us” based on their beliefs. To me, this project is a wake-up call that we need different voices among us to keep us engaged and resilient as a nation. To me, this project is a wake-up call that our emotions and feelings could be dangerous when it comes to decision-making & judgments. To me, this project is a wake-up call that our hate towards each other contributes to violence and the destruction of the community we love. Perhaps our society needs never judgments and criticism but respect and acceptance.
Efficiency vs Democracy?
(Picture Source)
A wonder I had during the project was how we can balance our nation’s efficiency while ensuring democracy is secured. To some extent, higher efficiency requires higher concentrated power and resources, leading to more significant risks to authoritarian rule. Judging by the decision-making duration, planning and implementing stages, authoritarian governments are often more efficient. But along with that efficiency are oppressive measures, unjust laws, and abolishing fundamental freedom and rights. So I wondered, how can we sustain high efficiency in our government without enduring the risk of authoritarian regimes? Is there a way, potentially a better system, to prevent the risks? How do we balance efficiencies and safety?
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One potential answer that derives from the learning process is that the effectiveness of the policy and the impact the policy brings to our society is more important than the establishment of the policy. In other words, it is more important to solve a problem thoroughly than quickly. Similar to a test, you don’t get any points for solving a question faster but rather for getting the correct answer. The world, however, is never as clear as black and white; therefore, we can only be sure of our decisions by reviewing, analyzing, and perhaps criticizing them. Through the heated debates, we learn from others as we work to craft a better world. Only then can we ensure those revised policies and laws are suitable and beneficial to us as a nation.