American politics is theatre. There is a frightening

Hear, O watchers of nations, the words of Robert Dallek, the chronicler of presidents and the shadows they cast: “American politics is theatre. There is a frightening emotionalism at national conventions.” In this utterance, he reveals that the realm of power is not only governed by reason, law, and policy, but also by performance, spectacle, and raw emotion. For in the gathering of the many, the mind often yields to the heart, and passion triumphs over calm judgment.

For indeed, politics is theatre. Leaders play their roles, not only as rulers but as actors upon a stage, reciting speeches crafted like scripts, surrounded by banners, music, and applause. The people, like an audience, are swept not only by the content of words but by their delivery, their fire, their rhythm. In the frenzy of national conventions, reason gives way to ritual, chants, and cheers, and the destiny of a nation is often sealed by emotion rather than deliberation.

History bears witness. In the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the nation saw not unity but chaos—delegates shouting, police clashing with protestors outside, and the air thick with anger and fear. What should have been a meeting of governance became theatre of rage, its emotionalism frightening in its intensity. Dallek’s words capture this truth: that such gatherings, though meant to crown leaders, can reveal the instability that lies beneath democracy’s surface.

So too in the rise of charismatic leaders across ages. Consider the fiery speeches of Adolf Hitler in 1930s Germany—gatherings choreographed like performances, where masses were stirred not by reasoned argument but by orchestrated emotionalism. Here, politics as theatre became not mere spectacle but a weapon, leading nations into darkness. Thus, the danger is not in passion itself, but in its unchecked sway over judgment.

Therefore, let this wisdom endure: when politics becomes theatre, the stakes are no less than the fate of nations. Spectacle can inspire, but it can also deceive; emotion can unify, but it can also blind. Robert Dallek’s words ring as warning—that we must watch carefully when passion runs high, lest the curtain fall and reveal not democracy’s strength, but its vulnerability to illusion. For in politics, as upon the stage, the performance may move the heart, but it is the unseen consequences that shape the world.