Defining People from a Vote Is Obtuse
A tradition that is shortsighted, dull-witted, and far too simplistic for our country.
As the election season ran its course in 2015 and into 2016, a perpetual theme of disdainful and vile politics has played itself out in front of us — not only in the candidates running on the many different sides, but mostly in the supporters on each and every side. The disdain has come in different forms: violent protests, Facebook and Twitter hatred, and cable propaganda.
All of these aspects have brought forth a form of politics that has been around for quite some time, just not on the forefront. The two party system usually produces an election season of policy disagreement, but not usually on the level of vile tactics and elementary attacks we’re seeing in this election cycle. Sure, we’re all used to that one conspiracy theory friend that feeds theories that have no proof. What we aren’t used to is having conspiracy theories played out in a presidential election from a candidate and many of the supporters.
What it has done is bring to the forefront a form of political discourse that has existed on the fringes of politics for quite some time. With the combination of social media and cable news, the discord between disagreeing voters has come into the limelight in an even more violent way than usual. The fringes of political disagreement coming into the limelight has only further infected an already archaic form of the human relationship in interaction with the political sphere. A vote seems to deeply define a person even more than their beliefs, lifestyle, or character.
Now at its most core level a vote is important. A person’s vote shows who they think should lead the country. When associating a person with their vote becomes a problem is when people become unable to see people for more than who they vote for. You are a Democrat, so you have these qualities associated with you. You are a Republican, so you believe these things. Seeing people as a pure reflection of who they vote for is raising politics to a level it doesn’t deserve. Giving that much credence to a person’s political leanings is foolish and shortsighted.
I understand there are major historical implications when it comes to political ideologies leading to conflict and even war. Denying these historical facts isn’t an option. What I am saying, is that most of the “conflict” in the 21st century of political leanings has been unwarranted and, frankly, laughable.
What really shows how Americans value politics is how we traditionally show our voting preferences. Think about the implications of placing a yard sign with a politician’s name in the front yard. Or even on the back of the car with a magnet. The first thing people associate you with is what you place on the forefront of your interactions with society. Whether it’s a new neighbor, a new co-worker, or even a friend of a friend who comes over for a party. Before each of these categories of people have even put a name to a face, they know who you vote for and have stereotypes that they associate with you. When thinking about the yard sign politics of America, it really isn’t surprising to me that politics are something people go insane over.
Passionate debates about policy are one thing, but what cable news and the “yard sign” politics of our culture has done is engrain a deep societal bitterness about politics in our countries DNA. Instead of doing research ourselves, we have key words and Sean Hannity or Bill Maher rants about certain corners of the political world that we associate with people depending upon which way they lean.
There isn’t a way to fix this awful political and social reality without overhauling the way that “pundits” and cable news generally report and dissect the political news of the day. Unfortunately, since we can’t rely on the larger cable news outlets to do an ethical job, we have to rely on everyone to do accurate research to have normal, accurate political discussions. Can’t really rely on that either.
What I’m saying is nothing new. There are no new concepts under the sun. It has just been incredibly disappointing to be engrossed in the toxicity of the political process as a first time voter. The vitriol that is spewed on social media and yard signs around the country have shown a disappointing side of our society. What I am saying is that one of the most incompetent features of the country is our inability to disagree on political or social issues and either have a civil, smart discussion on the topic at hand, or refrain from saying anything at all. Unfortunately, there isn’t a social-political czar who can moderate and fix these things.
Other than presenting a joking solution for a social-political czar, there really isn’t a purely simplistic solution I could suggest. Other than ranting about how frustrating it is to see this part of society and to become engrossed in it I have no other thoughts on how to fix it. I see the different aspects that play into the problem: cable news, tunneling how we see information and hence the world, having short attention spans, and surely much more related to the human condition. But I really don’t know how to fix many of these things in a reasonable way.
What it simply comes down to is that not being able to get past who someone is voting for is centered around what gets Americans in trouble with most things — the inability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. The great thing about politics, compared to a serious social issues, is that you don’t really have to empathize with the other person’s beliefs or experience to make a real change. For the most part, you simply just have to shut up.
