Socialists & Democrats • For me, democracy is our greatest common value

For me, democracy is our greatest common value

For me, democracy is our greatest common value. The ability of expressing our opinion on any topic regardless our race, gender, social class or political affiliation. Democracy along with liberal rights are one of the greatest values of our 21st century society and this is the reason why democracy is something we have to fight for. Something which worth to fight for. Nowadays when we witness the rise of more and more populist anti-democratic leaders around the globe such as Donald Trump or Viktor Orbán, especially now we have to stick to our common values, and defend them no matter the cost. The future of our society lies in this fight, the future of a democratic, equal and prospering society. The future of our children, which we wish to hold the very same values for which we fought for centuries in Europe. Although it was hard to achieve what we have now (equality, freedom of speech, human rights, democratic system), it seems even harder to preserve it. Many would say it is impossible, but only if we want to do it all alone, each country by itself. We have to recognize that democracy is the most precious common value of ours, which we have to stand up for together. Our strength lies in unity, therefore we have to act together, because together we can do it!

1 year, 5 months ago in What does Democracy mean to you?

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Balazs

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As a Hungarian citizen and young social democrat activist I can say without any doubts, that the situation in Hungary nor the way the EU is handling int recently is good. I think I tell nothing new if I say, that the damage of the democratic state, the liberal rights or the independence of press is below critical level. It isn’t an exaggeration at all to say, that nowadays we live in an illiberal anti democratic country with a corrupt and power thirsty government, lead by a populist leader.

In the beginning of this post I feel it important to state, that we cannot identify the mindset of the Hungarian government with the mindset of the people of Hungary. They don’t approve the antidemocratic actions of the government. And this is the point when you could ask…”the why do you vote for them?” It is a fact that the party of Viktor Orbán (Fidesz) is in power for 8 years by now despite the fact, that three elections were held since then…The problem is, which is both the source of the weak performances and growth of the opposition parties and the people believing the lies of the government, that there are no more than a handful of independent media products in Hungary. Since most of the printed and broadcasted media products are owned by either the goverment or oligarchs close to the governing parties, most of the people among lower social classes can’t reach any source of independent media, they can only inform themselves from the government’s propaganda, which produces nothing but fake news. This way the government can manipulate dozens of people, and make it nearly impossible for the opposition to appear in any kind of media. Therefore, one of the few things the EU, or any aspiring state could do in favor of the Hungarian democracy and people, moreover for the whole EU is, to finance the remaining independent sources of media in Hungary to even the odds regarding the distribution of fake news and real news. This way the EU (or specifically any country which desires) could gain more influence in Hungary and would weaken the position of the government and also help the struggling opposition a great deal. Which takes me to the next point… The opposition in Hungary is fragmented and divided. (For now let’s just focus on the left wing parties) The major left wing party the so called Hungarian “Socialist” Party (MSZP) (Which is a member of S&D) is discredited and widely rejected because of it’s neoliberal governing and past scandals. The party lacks any kind of political innovation and is rejected by not only the majority of voters, but also by the left wing supporters. On the other hand the smaller left wing parties, which have trustworthy politicians and true left wing programs can’t break in to first line politics because of the lack of money and appearance in mainstream media. That is why, from my point of view the S&D Group should focus more on managing their members, helping them and in the times of need encourage them to learn from other members. In my opinion our parties would profit really much from sharing experiences with practices with successful fellow members of the S&D Group such as the Swedish Social Democratic Party or the Portugal Socialist Party. As I mentioned exchanging experiences and learning new practices would be really useful we can’t forget to mention that the S&D Group (or again any country which seeks to gain influence, or interested in having a west minded democratic Hungary) could also finance the innovative and promising but yet weak left wing parties of Hungary. Whereas forming opinion and criticizing the processes in Hungary is necessary, forming a unit and acting together as I proposed above would help to solve our common problem more easily, thus helping both our common cause in Europe as well as freeing Hungary from it’s current wannabe dictator.

1 year, 5 months ago in What does Democracy mean to you?

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Balazs

Democracy is an ongoing process which can shift a facade or illiberal democracy, etc. to a real democracy and even to a liberal democracy. Democracy is a fair and free opportunity system. Anyone can transform to democracy. Democracy is a given in certain regions, while in others, it must be fought for and even earned. Democracy is the better way of life that when installed within a country contributes to fighting poverty, disease, the lack of education automatically. Democracy is not just having laws, but also knowing they will be there and they will work and they should be respected. Democracy is not just about casting a vote, it’s about choosing your future.

1 year, 2 months ago in What does Democracy mean to you?

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a.a.peycheva

The threat of new autoritarian goverments is real. We saw it with the elections in Brazil. Brazil chose to become a liberal (economy) and conservative (ideology) state. It happens because by the time the left was in the goverment there were corruption scandals that blinded all the social achievements made by the left for the people. I was born in Brazil. I see that the major concern of the people is about security and corruption, and the alt-right seizes this opportunity to impose privatizations ,less rights for workers using the conservatorism as a cover of verticality. They use the technique of the nazis , blame the left for all the bad that the world has. So how we can save our people of these mistakes? The only way is trough credibility. We need to remember history everyday. We need to show all the achievements that the left has made and still does for people’s lives and democracy. We need to show that the left of today is not the communism of the past. And we need young influencers to do this job. People are not very open to mainstream opinion makers anymore, they want the menssage from people they can relate with. This is why new movements grow so fast, because they are made with simple people. We need to start a battle using knowledge, history, our achievements and our proposals. And the new proposals must show why solidarity is good for economy, freedoom and happiness for all. And we can never forget about working people! Those people, the working class, are the most important at the moment. If we forget, then they will forget our legacy of fight for a better world .

1 year, 5 months ago in What does Democracy mean to you?

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Felipe Damasceno

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For me, democracy is our greatest common value

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