Photo/Illutration Police investigators work outside the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi, in San Francisco on Oct. 28. (AP Photo)

I believe the Oct. 28 attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was a result of former President Donald Trump continuing to act like a massive bellows, fanning the flames of conspiracy theories.

The alleged assailant, who invaded the home of the Pelosis, had reportedly been posting videos on social media claiming the 2020 presidential election was “stolen.”

About two-thirds of Republican Party supporters are said to still believe that President Joe Biden was illegally elected.

I used to assume the flames would eventually die down. Not only was I wrong, but the flames have also started smoldering in neighboring areas as well, including Brazil.

Incumbent Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, also known as “Brazil’s Trump,” was defeated in the Oct. 30 presidential election.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly endorsed groundless theories of voter fraud in past elections, and his supporters have even resorted to fatal knife and gun fights with members of opposing camps.

He has yet to concede defeat. He was ominously silent on election day.

Harvard University political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, co-authors of the 2018 book “How Democracies Die,” warn that it takes more than a well-made system to protect democracy.

What is needed, they state, is the readiness of elected leaders to respect common sense and courtesy not written into law. If political extremism runs rampant, the public’s trust in politics will be lost.

For example, the authors recommend “accepting the results of elections.”

This boils down to the need to be honorable and concede defeat. How depressing that something as obvious as this has to be “taught” in our present era.

Feeling bitter, I sought from the book other examples of conduct expected of people’s elected representatives. They included not lying, distinguishing what is private from what is public, using one’s authority carefully, and so on.

It occurred to me this is no time to be worrying about someone else’s country.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 1

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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