Is there a danger in Populism? (Don’t make the same mistakes we did.)

“The recipe for populism is universal. Find a wound common to many, find someone to blame for it, and make up a good story to tell. Mix it all together. Tell the wounded you know how they feel. That you found the bad guys. Label them: the minorities, the politicians, the businessmen. Caricature them. As vermin, evil masterminds, haters and losers, you name it. Then paint yourself as the savior. Capture the people’s imagination. Forget about policies and plans, just enrapture them with a tale. One that starts with anger and ends in vengeance. A vengeance they can participate in.

That’s how it becomes a movement. There’s something soothing in all that anger. Populism is built on the irresistible allure of simplicity. The narcotic of the simple answer to an intractable question. The problem is now made simple.“ –  Andrés Miguel Rondón January 27, 2017

However there is a potential problem with populism. What is it? For the answer read: In Venezuela, we couldn’t stop Chávez. Don’t make the same mistakes we did. – The Washington Post

Photo of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

“In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice…the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man.””
– Franklin Delano Roosevelt October 2, 1932