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Asia struggles with the same problems that the rest of the world faces. Hosting nearly four and a half billion people, or roughly 60 percent of the world’s population, Asia’s problems are more or less the biggie-sized versions of those seen in the developed and underdeveloped countries of the West. With the environmental and social carrying capable of Asia tested by the sheer number of people alone, the extreme nature of the problems faced in Asia offers the world invaluable insights into how these problems may be addressed.
Due to its massive population and limited natural resources, which are increasingly strained by environmental phenomena, e.g. climate change, and socioeconomic developments, such as the rise of an Asian middle class, poor and destitute Asians struggle with increasing scarcity of basic human necessities, i.e. food, water, heating fuel, and safe shelter. They also face increasing scarcity of socioeconomic necessities like running water, sanitation, access to reliable modes of transportation, electricity, and a general infrastructure deficient that prevents the poor of Asia from achieving economic security and stability.
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The 2016 US Presidential Election is distracting Americans and the rest of the world from serious issues that need confronted. Where the election of new leadership is supposed to sharpen the focus on the most important issues in the eyes of the Peoples, the caricatures that are Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have turned the political system into a drama. After years of crippling political dysfunction at the hands of Republicans under the leadership of Democrat Barack Obama, already neglected issues, such as tenuous state of the job market, have been increasing overshadowed by ruinous theatrics.
As part of a disingenuous, counterproductive effort to make herself more likable, Hillary is playing the gender card and deploying far more popular female surrogates, many of whom would be preferred as candidates. Although Clinton is at the center of the most scandalous news, which includes criminal wrongdoing and efforts to suppress Democratic revivals, Donald’s attention-seeking impulse compels him to sabotage his own credibility, which is made evident by his calls on Russia to interfere in US elections, i.e. illegally hack and leak information on Clinton. That said, dividing and distracting the voters might help candidates win in November, but it also draws attention away from the lack of ideas and solutions. The following was written by Guest Blogger Anant Mishra and does not reflect the views of The Washington Outsider or its staff.
Anant Mishra is a former Youth Representative to the United Nations. He has served extensively in United Nations General Assembly, the Security Council along with the Economic and Social Council. He is also a visiting faculty for numerous universities and delivers lectures on political economics and foreign policies. Not long ago, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimated a total need for investment of over “$8 trillion to improve national infrastructure,” across Asia, along with another “$290 billion in regional infrastructure” by 2020. Experts argue that “uneven economic growth, a population boom, and slow urbanization” have caused increasing infrastructure gap across Asia. As the infrastructure gap increases across continent, international development agencies are pursuing initiatives that will increase support of regional and local agencies. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has learned the harsh reality that lies and wrongdoings cannot be hidden with the release of over 20,000 hacked emails by Wikileaks, which demonstrates the Party’s efforts to suppress the revival(s) of Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton. The fact that Russia was likely responsible for the hacking demonstrates how information can be used to influence strategic elections. Where the DNC’s wrongs were uncovered by the efforts of hackers to the benefit of voters, the strategic, one-sided release of the emails allows hackers to bolster the standing of Russian-preferred candidates.
Clearly, Russia’s alleged manipulation of hacked documents serves as an example of how the strategic release of key information can be used to manipulate public sentiment. The goal of Russia is to paint American democracy as a lie and showcase America’s shortcomings with this one-sided use of leaked information. At the same time, Russia suppresses the flow of information to suppress criticism of Russia’s problems and wrongdoings. Although the strategic release and suppression of information is nothing new, the massive amount of information available on the internet leaves a false impression that all the facts are known, even if it cannot be found. Government needs the People to trust government and the People need to be able to trust government. Unfortunately, the need to trust government is too often misaligned with the reality that government cannot be trusted. Governments are big machines with numerous parts, so no one can expect all public officials to be trustworthy. The most pressing issue is, however, a culture that rationalizes dishonesty and misdoings in the pursuit alleged vital “national interests.” Terms, such as “national interests,” are used by public officials to rationalize whatever policy fits their political orientation and the special interests of that support their political aspirations.
The role of modern government is to properly address and balance the interests of all the People(s) of a nation. This requires the People have effective representation of their views and interests in government. It also requires a culture of transparency where public officials understand even the deepest of government secrets will eventually be revealed to the public. When temporary obscurity is needed, good faith efforts, which actually reflect national interests, are essential to prove the trustworthiness of public officials. While the role of dishonesty in domestic policies is obvious, the impact of dishonesty in foreign policy is just as problematic. |
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April 2020
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