Depth and attention matter in upholding a fragile democracy

Constitutionalism and the rule of law are threatened when people are incapable of engaging meaningfully with the detail of society's most pressing challenges.

- By Judith February

New York City’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani (34), certainly knows how to connect with people and he understands the zeitgeist: his campaign was on the streets, in clubs and bars, hip-hop, rap and all.

But Mamdani also understood that affordability, loneliness and marginalisation, which modern culture has bestowed, remain serious pressure points. And he tapped into them with charm and a campaign that was deceptively low-key and casual, but in fact very clever.

Mamdani sold the rarest commodities these days. His campaign had what always eludes Donald Trump and his supporters — joy. While Trump stews in the White House, fomenting hate and dispensing cruelty at a whim to serve his own narcissism, one can easily see why people would have wanted something different.

It goes without saying that Mamdani has a mammoth task on his shoulders because cities are where the rubber hits the road. It is where all the failures of democracy converge (in South Africa, the ANC’s corruption and neglect have seen cities sink into disrepair).

But the modern methods of campaigning should also be met with a caveat. After all, Trump also continues to employ a kind of feral genius as he aggressively uses online platforms as a means of garnering support and then retaining the support of that base.

Henry James's words, despite his living in another time, resonate when he speaks of what living in a “world of creation” requires of us and that “think(ing) intently and fruitfully” requires “depth and continuity of attention and meditation”, saving ourselves from “vagueness and inattention”.