Across the world, an unprecedented, and almost inexplicable, phenomenon is spreading: a language of violence and recklessness, especially in countries that pride themselves on “refinement” and the “rule of law.” This loss of restraint has reached astonishing levels, in both conservative and liberal societies alike. It may be said that such verbal aggression merely reflects the political and social violence now prevailing in most nations. In reality, it far exceeds that.
It cuts across all spheres: politicians, intellectuals, and artists alike. I do not mean only the degraded discourse of social media, its language and its manners, but also the language used by those who are supposed to uphold at least the minimum standards of public conduct.
It is alarming to see some leaders and officials at times submerged in the inferno of the Middle Ages, arguing with the logic of the Stone Age, while their platforms are among the most modern and advanced, whether in newspapers, publishing houses, or the expanding circles of media institutions.
Some visitors to London these days say it has become difficult to recognize the city that once stood as a model of tolerance in a rigidly racist world. This shift is reflected in daily life and its smallest details, and in the general tone of language across newspapers, institutes, and academies.
Signs of racism have come to seem almost normal, whereas they were once considered barbaric and reprehensible. The same phenomenon has returned forcefully in the United States, particularly within the government and among some prominent ministers. This current, once a source of shame, has gained strength across European capitals to a degree that threatens an explosion.
This drift to the right, in an election season like this, may bring about a fundamental shift in both America and Europe. And such a shift, in turn, could unsettle political conditions. In Britain, the prime minister is of Pakistani origin, the foreign secretary of African origin, and so too, to a significant extent, is the population itself.
