A world in tantrum mode proves dialogue outlasts dogma

THE meltdown by the orange ogre this week coincided with issues that have been running through my mind recently.

- ASHLEY GREEN-THOMPSON

While channelling the quintessential spoilt brat who takes their ball away from the group because their team is losing, the leader of the US tweeted that he will not invite South Africa to the G20 Summit in Miami in 2026. While this is most certainly intended as punishment for our country's solidarity with Palestine, it also represents the increasing polarisation of the world that is driven by a conservative agenda that will not — cannot - engage in rigorous debate on issues.

Instead, the pedlars of this ideology of unilateralism and exclusion will brook no dissent or diversity of opinion, preferring fake news (cf Afrikaner genocide) instead of critical debate. So poor Cyril will not be invited to the party next year.

Sadly, the United States is not alone in this trend. Voters who are convinced by the isolationist and exclusionary rhetoric of nationalism keep returning conservative governments to power. And if you think that the liberal democracies of Western countries hold the line against this trend, you’d be mistaken.