The Populist

His appeal is largely emotional and not intellectual. At first, this is refreshing. The people have heard a lot of theory but they're fed up and frustrated with the very slow rate at which problems actually get fixed. Meanwhile, they've noticed that corruption and incompetence forge ahead. The Populist inspires them because  he has a simplistic sense of right and wrong. Unfortunately, he doesn't bother thinking about the deeper implications or unintended consequences of his thoughts and actions.  

The Populist believes that the only real barrier to solving our problems is a lack of good will. As a consequence, he believes that problems that have baffled generations of leaders have simple and straightforward solutions. Everything he says creates a sense of immediacy and hope. This has the unfortunate effect of creating unrealistic expectations. A lot of people believe him and start to believe that problems that are deeply rooted in human nature and have been impossible to root out of any society in human history can be easily made to disappear. 

Worse, The Populist's desire to be loved by the crowd is so intense that he is willing to sacrifice honesty in order to get approval. He makes what at first appear to be spontaneous gestures of solidarity with the poor and marginalized but these later turn out to have been planned media events. He says things that appear to promise much but, when carefully parsed, actually say nothing at all. Sometimes, carried away by the adulation of crowds or, much worse, journalists, he will say things that are just irresponsible. He never goes back and cleans up these messes he makes but leaves that work for others to do.

As time goes on, his need for adulation and the media's willingness to play along with it continue but many people notice that he doesn't actually accomplish much. The Populist's supporters begin to wonder how deeply he holds the beliefs he speaks of with such passion. Others begin to worry if he is likely to launch off in some completely new direction should the winds suddenly appear favourable. Others just stop trusting him. 

Some people go even further and become conspiracy theorists. They see a seemingly unintended loss of faith in key institutions and begin to worry that this all part of a deliberate attempt on the part of The Populist to destabilize institutions in order to bring about some sort of undeclared revolutionary goals. They're wrong about the goals—there is nothing deliberate about this—but they're right about the effects. Governance has become increasingly unstable and principles that have been in place for many, many years suddenly appear negotiable. Even those who sought to reform these institutions begin to worry that what has been produced is not a new bedrock of principles to direct future governance but a vacuum. 

In the face of this, many start to withdraw. They remain nominally part of the larger group and take part to a degree sufficient to maintain membership but, privately, they have shifted their faith, hope and love elsewhere. Perhaps they secretly long for the day the Populist is no longer in office so that things can be made right again. Perhaps they have given up and are focused only on their little corner of the larger institution. They may be shoring it up so that it can survive by itself should the centre not hold. They may be more cynical, having written the centre off as doomed already and are merely being pragmatic in not leaving until they feel their local group is strong enough to survive on it's own. They may have already left in spirit and all that is lacking is a final declaration.

That could be a story about any number of populist secular leaders who have just taken or might take power in the near future. The person I was thinking of, however, is Pope Francis.

I do this not to condemn him or even to single him out. What I want to call attention to is that Francis is not a leader but a follower. He is a man who is very swept up in the spirit of our times.

There is no point in railing against this or imagining that he can be changed.

Our life is over like a sigh.
Our span is seventy years
or eighty for those who are strong. 

And most of these are emptiness and pain.
They pass swiftly and we are gone.

Almost every human generation has had to live with the sort of uncertainty we currently struggle with. Some had to live with constant chaos and destruction all their lives. Things sometimes get better and they sometimes get worse. One day they will get much worse and that might be about to happen now. Or not.

In the meantime, I will die and so will you. Our only hope is in the name of the LORD who made heaven and earth.