The modern dictators

We are living in the modern times. It's the world of hybrid cars and fuel from corn, bunker-busters and invisible drones, mobile blogs and ad-words, Mars expeditions and Pluto's planetary demotion. It is impossible to keep up with the latest technological advances we see around us.

But science is not the only field where innovation is taking a lead. I am referring to the current authoritarian regimes of our world. The old way of ruling populations with the twin-edged sword of suppression and censorship is history. The old order has been replaced by a new order of dictators. These so-called leaders have realized that the old weapons will no longer be effective in today's modern world where information is spread within the blink of an eye.

And so we see the invention of the modern weapons in their arsenal: popular votes to suppress opposition, controlling the pillars of democracy with hand-picked surrogates, and pushing referendums to remove all term-limit obstacles in their favor so they can rule forever. All of this under the guise of democratic reforms.

Some may argue that pure democracy is too strong a medicine for some volatile countries, that these countries need a watered-down democracy to weather the storm. We see support for these modern dictators from the leaders of the free world .. "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

I beg to disagree. I realize that world politics and foreign policy is not a simple matter of black and white. Countries cannot survive in today's world of depleting natural resources and complex economic realities using ideology alone. However, I strongly believe in the saying "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely."