Raised voices, patriotism and God bless you all

Yesterday I saw the Republican convention on TV. I didn’t know what I had been expecting, however, I was still chocked by what I saw. The speakers urged the crowd to stand up, and they almost screamed out their pride of the wonderful nation of America. Finishing off with a “God Bless”, and they left the stage. The difference between a Swedish political speech and an American couldn’t be greater.

In Sweden, the political leaders are very controlled and pragmatic. They strengthen their arguments with statistics and nuanced perspectives. Raising your voice or losing control is illegitimate, only showing lack of professionalism or concrete arguments.

As one speaker at the convention was finished, the commentators were quick to scrutinize every detail of the politician’s moves and quotes. It felt almost like a sport event – and it was fun! (Compare that with the political debates in Sweden which requires large amounts of caffeine to get through…)

The purpose with the American conventions is not to give a controlled and pragmatic impression. The leaders want to gather support and stir the crowd. The people attending the conventions will probably be the volunteer workers or donors later in the campaign, and the parties need these for the more and more long and expensive campaigns.

In America, politics equals emotions. Is this good or bad? It can definitely engage people and make them take standpoints even though they are not particularly interested in politics. But it can also remove focus from what is really important, the politics itself. The risk is that the emotions take over the pragmatism which is necessary for long-term political decisions. Craving support and donations, the political leaders of today in America get more and more vulnerable to populism.