Voter Apathy — Part III

Posted on by under Election 2018, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

This is the third and final post in my series on voter apathy.  For this post, I share the words of another, Roxane Gay, in an OpEd piece she wrote for the New York Times.  The piece speaks for itself …

You’re Disillusioned. That’s Fine. Vote Anyway.

Very pragmatic advice for anyone thinking about not casting a ballot.

Roxane GayA young woman in Milwaukee recently asked me if I had any advice for disillusioned young voters. She said that in a representative democracy it was hard to want to vote for, in her words, “yet another 40,000-year-old white man” who didn’t look like her or have familiarity with her experiences.

Her question was genuine, and even though more women are running for Congress than in previous years and Stacey Abrams of Georgia has a chance to be the first African-American woman elected governor, I understood her overall frustration. For every beacon of progress there is a stark reminder that the status quo all too often prevails.

Young people are facing a lot of problems they had no hand in creating. Far too many of them are saddled with incredible amounts of student loan debt, working in a gig economy where little job security is scarce. If they have health insurance, it is likely inadequate. Homeownership can seem out of reach. Black voters are being disenfranchised at alarming rates. Reproductive freedom is precarious. Citizenship is precarious. Climate change threatens our planet on an alarming timeline. Things are grim and politicians of all persuasions are doing very little to assuage or address the very real concerns people have about this country and their place in it.

I could have offered a warm, gentle answer but these are not warm, gentle times. Given everything that has transpired since President Trump took office, I have no patience for disillusionment. I have no patience for the audacious luxury of choosing not to vote because of that disillusionment, as if not voting is the best choice a person could make. Not voting is, in fact, the worst choice a person could make.

In 2016, nearly 40 percent of eligible voters chose not to vote. Many who showed up to vote for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 were apparently so underwhelmed by Hillary Clinton that they simply stayed home. And, of course, there were the voters who chose third-party candidates who had no chance of winning the presidential election but were still able to affect the outcome in key states. If and how one votes is a personal choice, but that choice has consequences.

We are reaping what has been sown from voter disillusionment and we will continue doing so until enough people recognize what is truly at stake when they don’t vote. A representative democracy is flawed but it is the political system we must work within, at least for the time being. We have a responsibility to participate in this democracy, even when the politicians we vote for aren’t ideal or a perfect match. Voting isn’t dating. We are not promised perfect candidates. Voting requires pragmatism and critical thinking and empathy and now, more than ever, intelligent compromise.

Only 40 percent of Americans choose to vote during midterm elections, generally speaking. There has been a lot of talk about the importance of voting next Tuesday because we are desperate to change the political climate and the first step in doing that is shifting the balance of power in Congress. Politicians, their volunteers and progressive publications have been vigorously trying to get out the vote in a range of ways.

Many of these efforts have been well intended but poorly executed. One tactic has been the use of bait-and-switch on social media — sharing something innocuous like celebrity gossip or a recipe, only to direct people to a webpage about voting and voter registration. These efforts imply that one cannot care about both trivial things and the state of our democracy. This bait-and-switch approach may not be anyone’s primary voter outreach strategy, but it is happening often enough to grate on my nerves. These efforts are predicated upon the belief that condescension and manipulation are the only way to reach apathetic or disillusioned voters when what we need is brutal honesty.

We deserve a better class of politicians who recognize the greater good and act in service of that greater good rather than in service of amassing more power. We deserve politicians who are held accountable for their decisions. We deserve politicians from all walks of life, not just the same old wealthy white heterosexual people who are overly represented in all branches of the government.

We also deserve to be disillusioned and disappointed with what our politicians, thus far, have offered. For the most part they have failed us spectacularly because they understand that radicalism doesn’t play well even though radicalism is what we need now, more than ever. And it is certainly a travesty that universal health care and a livable minimum wage and civil rights and higher taxes on the wealthy are considered radical, but here we are.

I am going to vote on next Tuesday but I can’t say I am particularly optimistic about the impact my vote will have. Between the corrupt stranglehold the Republican Party has on political power and the incompetence and cowardice of the Democrats, voting feels futile. The politicians I will vote for don’t represent me and what I believe in as much as I would like them to.

Voter disillusionment makes perfect sense but it is also incredibly selfish and shortsighted. In the past week, a biracial man was charged with sending pipe bombs to prominent Democrats; reports said he drove a van covered in hateful propaganda. A white man tried to enter a black church in Louisville, Ky., and when he couldn’t, he went to a nearby Kroger grocery store and killed two black people. On a Saturday morning in Pittsburgh, a white man entered a synagogue, shouting anti-Semitic epithets. He killed 11 Jews and injured six others. This took place in the same week in which it was reported that the Trump administration thinks it might be able to define the transgender community out of existence, and in which the president continues to use the caravan of migrants heading to the United States to stoke the xenophobic hysteria of his base.

Every single day there is a new, terrifying, preventable tragedy fomented by a president and an administration that uses hate and entitlement as political expedience. If you remain disillusioned or apathetic in this climate, you are complicit. You think your disillusionment is more important than the very real dangers marginalized people in this country live with.

Don’t delude yourself about this. Don’t shroud your political stance in disaffected righteousness. Open your eyes and see the direct line from the people in power to their emboldened acolytes. It is cynical to believe that when we vote we are making a choice between the lesser of two evils. We are dealing with a presidency fueled by hate, greed and indifference. We are dealing with a press corps that can sometimes make it seem as though there are two sides to bigotry. Republican politicians share racist memes that spread false propaganda and crow “fake news” when reality interferes with their ambitions. Progressive candidates are not the lesser of two evils here; they are not anywhere on the spectrum of evil we are currently witnessing.

If you are feeling disillusioned, get over it, at least enough to vote and vote pragmatically. Tell your friends to vote. Drive people to the polls. Support candidates you believe in with your time or, if you can afford it, money. Volunteer for community organizations that address to the issues you most care about. Attend town halls held by your elected officials. Hold them accountable for the decisions they make with the power you give them. Run for local office. Do something. Do anything.

Nothing will change by sitting at home for the midterms or any other election. We cannot afford disillusionment. We cannot afford to do nothing. Lives are at stake and if you don’t recognize that, you are no better than those with whom you are disillusioned.

Roxane Gay, an associate professor at Purdue University, is the author of “Hunger,” and a contributing opinion writer.

vote-animated

35 thoughts on “Voter Apathy — Part III”

  1. I liked her article for the most part but this line to me stood out:

    If you are feeling disillusioned, get over it, at least enough to vote and vote pragmatically.

    Just think what a different result we could wake up to next Wednesday if people followed this advice.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I will give this to the advice to those who are disillusioned.
    1. Democracy is a poor form of government but all the alternatives are so much worse.
    2. If you don’t like it change it. Intolerance thrives on Apathy.
    3. If you don’t vote you are voting for Trump and those who are profiting by his tenure. You cool with that? If so, why aren’t you out voting for the Republicans?
    4. Martin Niemoller (a Lutheran Pastor) wrote this (there are various versions) during the Nazi era:
    “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a socialist.
    Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a trade unionist.
    Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a Jew.
    Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
    And don’t think for one instant it could not happen in any nation to any group…..If you don’t vote you are part of this process.
    5. Finally. No one is perfect, if nothing else pick the least worst alternative. An’t Reality a toughie cookie?
    6. It’s your nation. Your duty. If you don’t vote you may be choosing a road to the next civil war.

    Liked by 4 people

    • I couldn’t have said it better myself! Excellent advice, dear Roger! I think that we should all have Niemoller’s poem taped to our refrigerator. I think that people have become far too complacent since the end of World War II and just assume that no matter what they do or don’t do, life will go on pretty much the same. The past decade should have shaken most out of that complacency, but sadly it hasn’t.

      Liked by 1 person

      • This is why reading of history is so important Jill.
        Reading about a country or region which has a kind of stability for hundreds of years and then it falls, in a most messy and distressing way.
        This can (some might say ‘will’) to any nation at any time.
        The USA has been around for 250-ish years…..in terms of the time-line of nations….a snippet of time.
        The potential to survive is great, as is the potential to flourish, regrettably the potential to collapse into a tragedy is also there.
        If only the ordinary folk who follow Trump and his Cronies realised these are folk who will bring ruin. They are divisive and worse, hysterics, they have a potential to bring loose forces they have no hope of containing.

        Liked by 1 person

        • You are so right, and unless I miss my guess, most of those who blindly follow Trump are not students of history, literature, philosophy, or political analysis. Which leaves the rest of us with our hands over our mouths trying to suppress the screams as we see the train approaching the curve, knowing that it is out of control and going much too fast to make the turn, but will tumble over the edge, taking with it all who are on board. Sigh. Okay, yeah, a bit of an over-dramatization, but … I’m struggling to keep out of the rabbit hole … 🕳️🐰

          Liked by 1 person

          • Same with us on Brexit.
            We are lurching towards….who knows what?
            Lewis Carol aside, I reckon rabbit holes are a pretty good option. Hide up and wait for it to pass.

            Liked by 1 person

            • Yep, you guys’ train is definitely on a similar track.
              The rabbit hole … well, it’s a bit too dark and gloomy to be a healthy place, so it’s best to stay out of it, but you already know that, for you’ve been down there too.
              Hugs, my friend.
              😺😺😺😺😺😸 Hugs Uncle Woger

              Liked by 1 person

              • Of course I suppose we could adopt the ‘Old curmudgeonly’ approach. By sitting on a chair, bench etc in a public place with local newspaper and saying loudly to anyone who voices support for the Republican Party ‘Huh! Dam’ fool business!’ and go back to reading the paper, if they continue trying to engage you respond with ‘Hmmph! Y’d think folk would have better things to do with their time!’ and finally the real throw-’em-off the rails ‘Lis’n my old man fought in World War Two! You can’t tell me nuthin’ I don’t know all ready!’ then return to newspaper, mumbling…..That should throw ’em.
                Meanwhile…..Hi you guys! 😽😽😽😽😽😽.

                Liked by 1 person

                • Ha ha … my grandpa used to be EXACTLY like that! I would be more inclined to wring their bloody neck with the newspaper, though, else stuff it down their gullet! Patience, these days, is not my strong suit!

                  Liked by 1 person

                  • They have no argument, or defence against the Grumpy Ol’ Guy stance of seeming General Disapproval at everyone and everything.
                    (‘Lemme tell you this! If everyone is this country minded their own business an’ got on with their work we wouldn’t be in the mess we are now!’…..then exits mutters ‘Dam’ fool business, letting some new-money New York skirt-chaser run the nation! Hell! If Nixon don’t seem so bad these days!’ turns around and yells ‘I get more sense out of next door’s cats!’
                    They’ll be stuck for an answer of any sort I tell ya!

                    Liked by 1 person

                    • Somehow, I don’t even need to stretch my imagination to picture that very scene! I suppose it beats taking a gun and shooting up a synagogue full of people because one doesn’t agree with them, or flat out just doesn’t like people that don’t ‘match’ him. And, in truth, sometimes when I want common sense, I do talk to the kitties … especially Boo who seems to be particularly astute in matters of politics. 😼

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • I will muzzle my opinions and suggestions of Law, Order, and Retribution which lead into Stability of The State; they upset folk.
                      Give my regards to Boo, have they given their opinion on the results yet? 😺

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Awww … don’t muzzle your ‘pinions … I like them!

                      Nala and Tiger both said, “Go away and leave me to my beauty rest”. Izzy runs under the sofa every time politics is mentioned. Pandi was asleep, and Ollie just wanted to play. Boo, the intellectual of the bunch, said … “Can I scwatch dat bad man’s eyes out, Gwammie?” So there you have the poll results from the moggie bunch!

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Tell them he’ll take away their treats and leave them with scraps for meals and see what happens….
                      🙀🙀🙀🙀🙀🙀…..and then
                      😾 😾 😾 😾 😾 😾 !

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Meanwhile, time to have another talk with Miss Tiger Lily, for she attacked my arm last night … brutally … thereby causing me to throw a plate which shattered into a million pieces and left broccoli on the kitchen walls. Or, maybe it’s me who needs talking to? 😯

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Tiger Lily you are a bad cat 😿 And bad cats get sent to Not Nice Places.
                      Seriously though Jill, here’s a link:
                      https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/common-cat-behavior-issues/aggression-cats.
                      The key phrase for me is •”Major changes are made in the cat’s family or environment (for example, moving or someone moving in)” So.….We’ve talked about this before but I wonder how much Orange’s death has upset the balance in your cat community?

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Thanks for the link … I should have checked into that long ago. Sigh. You may be right, but Orange has been dead for several months now, and things largely seemed to calm down until the last few days when Tiger has been hissing and growling at all the other kitties. One of Chris’ co-workers suggested it could be the season change … just last week went from temps in the 70s to the 20s, and the time changed. So many nuances … it’s like running a daycare!

                      I sowwy Uncle Woger … 😿

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Who knows, Roger … who knows? The funny thing … I followed a link from the link you sent, and one of the suggestions they made for one cat being aggressive to another (as Tiger is toward Nala) was to rub a bit of tuna oil on each of their heads and the backs of their necks! It said they would become engrossed in grooming, which would relax them and make them forget their aggression, plus they might even lick the tuna off each other’s heads and become friends! Not sure I’m ready for the whole house to smell like tuna, but hey … I’m willing to try anything!

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Me and my BIG mouth!!! Remember, babes, that tuna has mercury and you can only have a teeny-tiny bit.

                      Interestingly, I’ve told you how scared of everything Izzy is and how she practically lives under the sofa? There are two things that will get her to come out of hiding: tuna and peanut butter! Sigh … I may just try it, although for the moment things are calm.

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Next to Kipling it’s the one book of poetry I can quote from (in parts).
                      Can you see any of your six little moggies in those pages? (😺, I wanna be Bustopher Jones Gwannie! Me…me..me!)

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • You cannot be Bustopher Jones, for you are far too skinny and … not nearly dignified enough!

                      I think Boo would make a good Macavity, and back in his heyday, Orange would have made a perfect Bustopher Jones … he was very fat and quite the dandy about town … er, house!

                      Liked by 1 person

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