This is fiction, but it's much closer to reality than you might think.
Populist leaders manage to influence their loyal followers and shape politics and society according to their ideologies, interests and ambitions.
The danger lies when these ideologies are extremist, radical, and authoritarian.
A lack of intellect and the distortion of reality based on conspiracy theories, coupled with a lack of knowledge about the principles of democracy, do not prevent these populist leaders from putting democracy at risk or in decline.
What we are seeing in the world today is very dangerous.
The polarization of politics between the far right and the far left is a constant threat to democracies.
Many countries are in danger because of this polarization.
This becomes even more dangerous when these populist leaders instigate and inflame their followers.
A inflammatory speech or an angry post on social media is enough to trigger chaos and put society at risk.
Populist political leaders manipulate their base very easily, especially the most radical ones, when motivated and instigated.
Fake news or hate speech, spread in a speech or posted on social media by their leader, can become a weapon in the minds and hands of the most radical and extremist.
"If my leader thinks this way, then I will act this way.
"If my leader is against everyone who thinks differently from him and his ideals, then I will have reason to be racist and prejudiced, and against all those who are different from me and do not share my values and principles.
"Let's cancel everyone who is different from us!!
This is how the culture of hate and cancelation instigated by populist leaders works.
They are against all those who are different from them and who reject or criticize their political agenda.
If you fuel hatred, you will generate more hatred.
Killing people for thinking differently or having different ideologies is not normal.
Shooting 20 children at school is not normal.
Stabbing people on the subway is not normal.
Burning people alive is not normal.
Committing genocide is not normal.
Insisting on wars is not normal.
Violating human rights is not normal.
"The banality of evil" cannot be normal.
Many of these movements or groups that organize demonstrations and marches in favor of freedom are actually doing so to express in a veiled way their racism and prejudice, unfairly judging and offending people who think differently than them, who have different political ideologies, who have a different skin color, who have a different sexuality, who has a different religion, who have a different ethnicity and culture and who are not from the same country as them.
It's much easier to expel people who are different from you from your country than it is for you to accept and live with these differences.
The racist, and prejudiced people don't admit this.
That's why they march in the name of "freedom."
When this is encouraged and supported by their populist leaders, it becomes more comfortable.
This is the banality of evil in modern times.
"If you think differently than me and are different from me, I don't accept you!!!
The world needs to wake up to this reality and change it while there is still time.
Polarization in politics is very dangerous and will always lead to extremes.
Whether in the USA, Brazil, Nepal, Europe, or anywhere else in the world, political polarization will always be a threat to democracy.
We must put an end to all this violence and radicalism!
World leaders must be held accountable for this.
Those who inflame and instigate their radical followers and supporters must be held accountable for their violent acts.
We cannot trivialize evil.
The world's supreme courts and tribunals of justice must be aware and aligned to punish leaders who incite violence in politics and also to protect their countries' democracies.
Someone must be held accountable for this polarization and all this violence.
Populist political leaders who instigate and motivate their followers and supporters with their radical rhetoric, hate speech, and misinformation, and divide their country with these extremist ideologies, must be held accountable for all violent acts committed by their supporters.
Political polarization is destroying the civility of our world.
We urgently need to open a dialogue with people about civility and democracy.
We need to put an end to hate speech between the right and the left.
Civility and the principles of democracy must be respected.
People can think differently and have different political ideologies, but instead of hatred and intolerance, these differences need to be debated and resolved through dialogue, morality and civility.
Freedom of expression is a right for all of us, but we cannot transform this into hate speech and intolerance.
We all have the right to express ourselves on social media or in street protests, but this must be civilized and peaceful.
You can disagree with people and their ideas, but this does not give you the right to kill them.
Whether you are right-wing or left-wing, you must respect differences.
Instead of hatred and violence, defend your ideas and ideologies through dialogue and common sense.
We cannot lose our civility.
If this happens, extremism and radicalism will take over our world.
We must put an end to this political polarization.
This is a responsibility of all of us, civilized people.
Alexsandro Ribeiro.
