Let's say you belong to a kayak club. The club is for all types of kayaking: sea kayaking, whitewater kayaking, kayak fishing, even a few surfskiers. You're a sea kayaker. The club was founded by sea kayakers and they still represent the majority of the club. One of your buddies is a whitewater kayaker and he mentions one day that the club isn't very fair to his kind. Huh?
He points out that the officers in the club are almost all sea kayakers. That the club has arranged for discounts with sea kayak manufacturers, but nothing for whitewater kayakers. The club's big summer party is always scheduled on the same day as a popular whitewater release so they have to choose which one to attend. The club offers discounts on sea kayaking courses and actively recruits new members at sea kayak events - even offering a discount for people who own their own sea kayaks (but not for whitewater boats).
You never really thought of it, but he has a point. Your defense is that all those decisions are voted on by the club, so it's only fair to represent the majority. He points out that the club charter states it's a club for everyone and explicitly states that every type of kayaking deserves the same club benefits. You don't really have an answer for that.
You say that he should bring this up at the meetings. Maybe he should run for the board and try to make some changes. He says he and his whitewater friends have been asking for changes for years. They do run for the board but the sea kayakers always elect sea kayakers. Whenever whitewater folks bring up these issues they get ignored. Most sea kayakers, like yourself, never even think about such things. They have tried to make a change but they don't have the power.
But you do. You are part of the majority. If you think the situation is unfair, your voice carries more weight than theirs. Your friends (the other sea kayakers) are the ones who serve on the board and make the decisions. The only way the situation will change is if enough of the sea kayakers recognize the unfairness and are willing to sacrifice to make it better - sacrifice meaning giving up their unfair privilege. They will have less control of the board, maybe get less financial support from the club for their own events. They might end up with more whitewater kayakers (and others) in the club. They might even lose their majority. But you know what's right and you want to be fair. The question is: what are you willing to do about it?
If a situation is unfair, who has the responsibility to change it? The people who are disadvantaged and lack power? Or those who have the power through unfair means? While we easily accept it's human nature to take advantage of a situation when it favors us, we all really know, deep down, what's right and what's wrong, and who is responsible for fixing it. We're all just one big kayak club.
Thoughts on the world from a rational existentialist.
Monday, December 24, 2018
Friday, November 16, 2018
Analogies: Is the Game Fair?
Imagine you have a kid - maybe you really do so this will be easy. Your kid loves basketball. She practices every day and is the star of her traveling team. They have a huge tournament over several weekends, and she is super excited and hopes to help her team win the whole thing.
But in the first game you notice that she's getting called for fouls a lot. Fouls she isn't committing. And the other kids are not getting called when they foul her. It's unfair officiating and she has a bad game. Afterwards you console her and agree that it wasn't fair. But she should shake it off. Keep working hard and doing her best and everything will work out. But the same thing happens in the next game: the refs single her out, treat her unfairly, and she doesn't do as well as she's capable of.
So you look into it and hear the refs are doing this to some other kids too. All kids with blue eyes like your daughter. There doesn't seem to be any good reason for it, but the stats prove it's true. Blue-eyed kids are being called for more fouls, fewer fouls are being called against them, and all the statistics show that blue-eyed kids are not performing as well as other kids or as well as they have done throughout their career. The whole tournament is unfair to kids like yours. What do you do?
First, you probably repeat your inspirational speech to your kid. Life isn't always fair but you do the best you can in the circumstances you find yourself in. You just have to play harder and be better than the other kids. Try to keep yourself out of situations where they might call a foul on you. Don't let the fouls other commits get to you. Let it go and focus on your own actions and if you don't win realize it isn't your fault. You know you tried your best.
Good parenting, but is that all? I don't think you'd just accept an unfair tournament. You'd probably complain to the rules committee. Maybe organize the other parents. Carry signs. Yell at the refs. Maybe go so far as to boycott a game. And if you did everything you could and the tournament was still biased against your kid I bet you'd definitely skip that tournament in the future. You would do everything you could to ensure your kid gets treated fairly, that they have an equal chance to win as every other kid out there. They deserve it.
Now, what if your kid had brown eyes and they weren't the ones being discriminated against? What if instead of a basketball tournament it was life itself? What would you do to make sure it was fair? We all know the right thing to do, we just have to be motivated out of self-interest to do it. We should be better than that. All kids deserve it.
But in the first game you notice that she's getting called for fouls a lot. Fouls she isn't committing. And the other kids are not getting called when they foul her. It's unfair officiating and she has a bad game. Afterwards you console her and agree that it wasn't fair. But she should shake it off. Keep working hard and doing her best and everything will work out. But the same thing happens in the next game: the refs single her out, treat her unfairly, and she doesn't do as well as she's capable of.
So you look into it and hear the refs are doing this to some other kids too. All kids with blue eyes like your daughter. There doesn't seem to be any good reason for it, but the stats prove it's true. Blue-eyed kids are being called for more fouls, fewer fouls are being called against them, and all the statistics show that blue-eyed kids are not performing as well as other kids or as well as they have done throughout their career. The whole tournament is unfair to kids like yours. What do you do?
First, you probably repeat your inspirational speech to your kid. Life isn't always fair but you do the best you can in the circumstances you find yourself in. You just have to play harder and be better than the other kids. Try to keep yourself out of situations where they might call a foul on you. Don't let the fouls other commits get to you. Let it go and focus on your own actions and if you don't win realize it isn't your fault. You know you tried your best.
Good parenting, but is that all? I don't think you'd just accept an unfair tournament. You'd probably complain to the rules committee. Maybe organize the other parents. Carry signs. Yell at the refs. Maybe go so far as to boycott a game. And if you did everything you could and the tournament was still biased against your kid I bet you'd definitely skip that tournament in the future. You would do everything you could to ensure your kid gets treated fairly, that they have an equal chance to win as every other kid out there. They deserve it.
Now, what if your kid had brown eyes and they weren't the ones being discriminated against? What if instead of a basketball tournament it was life itself? What would you do to make sure it was fair? We all know the right thing to do, we just have to be motivated out of self-interest to do it. We should be better than that. All kids deserve it.
Monday, November 5, 2018
Fight for Democracy, Part 27: Why I vote
I grew up in a small farm town in Minnesota, was raised by well-educated parents, and faced very little adversity. We weren’t rich. We didn’t live extravagant lives or take fancy vacations, but we never really worried about putting food on the table or keeping the roof over our heads. I worked summer jobs to buy a cheap car in high school and got through college without loans through scholarships and work-study. All pretty typical for a white guy in the midwest. I never really cared much about politics because it meant little to me personally.
Sure, it was worth an intellectual discussion. Did American Democracy influence Europe nineteenth century development or did European ideals of aristocracy and pre-eminence distort the Constitution’s ideals of liberty and equality? Were the budget deficits of the 80’s worth it to end the Cold War or did they usher in a new era of perpetual debt and mistrust of government? But actual laws passed, which Party governed my state or country, those had little impact on my life.
The unemployment rate never touched me because I was a well-educated white male who could always find a job - or fall back on my extended support system of family and friends. I didn’t face discrimination of any kind or lack the rights of other people. I knew that if I called the police for help they would come quick and assume I was the good guy. If I didn’t get health care through my job I wasn’t worried because I was young and healthy. I didn’t rely on public transportation, didn’t need childcare, and made enough money, though not too much, so that my tax bill was a minor inconvenience at worst.
I lived my life according to the virtues I’d been raised with: work hard, be honest, treat everyone with respect, and give everyone a fair chance. I looked at the society around me - mostly people similar to myself - and it seemed like my neighbors did the same. I didn’t see discrimination (I didn’t see many people of color, either). I didn’t see bigotry or racial animus (most people treated me fine). People seemed to be respectful to women (in my presence) and immigrants were welcomed (in so much as they were gainfully employed doing a lot of the grunt work to make our lives easier). So while it was clear that much of our political rhetoric and policies weren’t nearly so egalitarian, life seemed okay and it was easier to simply be a good person and not waste my time or energy fighting the evil in the world.
As I grew older and experienced more of life, I broadened my horizons. I got to know people who were unlike me - less privileged, less white, less male. Social media came along and made it easier to hear the personal stories of lots of people like that. I started paying attention to those stories. I saw the penalties for crack cocaine (used mostly by poor, black people) were 50 times harsher than those for powdered cocaine (used mostly by rich white people) in spite of it being the same drug. I heard arguments that gay people should not be allowed to marry because they didn’t deserve the same rights as ‘us’. I worked with poor people whose health suffered because they couldn’t afford care.
Then I got married. And had a daughter. The future suddenly held much more importance and the rights of women (and other disadvantaged groups) became personal. I watched as my country elected a man who bragged about sexual assault to the highest office of the land. I listened as he spewed racist and sexist rhetoric and a large proportion of our society cheered. I felt helpless when more people made it very clear a woman’s trauma is less meaningful than a judge’s partisanship, that her sincerity and credibility still count less than his blatant dishonesty and deception. This is not the society I want for my daughter.
Women are paid less for doing the same job with the same experience as men. Women-dominated professions have lower salaries than male-dominated ones requiring the same education. Women are still doing most of the care work for children and households and are still grossly under-represented in higher levels of business and politics. They pay more for reproductive health care and shoulder a higher burden for birth control, yet many in our society want to limit their choices over their own bodies.
When I talk to other privileged white people like myself, many bristle at the suggestion that we are privileged, though they don’t have any real argument with the data that proves it. They also talk a lot about how much better things are for the marginalized than they used to be - as if ‘better’ is good enough. Or claim the best way to help anyone is to improve the economy (which they often measure by GDP or the Stock Market). And they are quick to assert that they are colorblind towards people and ‘respect’ women - though they’re still somehow more worried about the .005% of men who might be falsely accused of sexual assault instead of the 15% of women who are assaulted. It’s all just excuses to say that the inequities and discrimination in our society are not their fault because they aren’t personally discriminating or disrespecting anyone. But they do vote.
And a vote for Republicans is a vote for a party that has made it perfectly clear that women are not meant to be treated equally or fairly. They oppose the Equal Rights Amendment. They oppose maternity leave requirements. They won’t reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. They want to allow employers to deny insurance coverage for women’s reproductive health. They vote for men who disparage women and they attack female candidates in a sexist manner.
Democrats aren’t perfect, but they run and elect many more female candidates. They support a woman’s choice and many laws to ensure equality. They advocate for maternity leave, childcare support, reproductive health coverage. They fight against gender discrimination, unequal pay, and systemic bias against women. By and large, they treat women with respect, not just personally but as an organization. They are working towards the ideal (equality) instead of away from it.
I believe electing women to office, especially Democratic women, not only improves the lives of women but everyone’s life, including my own. When women are included in leadership we get better decisions and better results. In general, women help. When women are allowed to fully contribute in the workplace our economy does better. When women are paid equally and supported in childcare their offspring - our future - do better. Our society benefits when everyone gets a fair chance. Equality may feel like discrimination to those currently receiving advantage, but it’s time we all put the good of the many ahead of the privilege of the few.
For my own sake, for my wife’s sake, and for my daughter’s sake, I actively support the only side in politics which will treat women with the respect they deserve. There are many reasons I vote for Democrats, but none are more important than my family’s future.
Who are you voting for?
Sure, it was worth an intellectual discussion. Did American Democracy influence Europe nineteenth century development or did European ideals of aristocracy and pre-eminence distort the Constitution’s ideals of liberty and equality? Were the budget deficits of the 80’s worth it to end the Cold War or did they usher in a new era of perpetual debt and mistrust of government? But actual laws passed, which Party governed my state or country, those had little impact on my life.
The unemployment rate never touched me because I was a well-educated white male who could always find a job - or fall back on my extended support system of family and friends. I didn’t face discrimination of any kind or lack the rights of other people. I knew that if I called the police for help they would come quick and assume I was the good guy. If I didn’t get health care through my job I wasn’t worried because I was young and healthy. I didn’t rely on public transportation, didn’t need childcare, and made enough money, though not too much, so that my tax bill was a minor inconvenience at worst.
I lived my life according to the virtues I’d been raised with: work hard, be honest, treat everyone with respect, and give everyone a fair chance. I looked at the society around me - mostly people similar to myself - and it seemed like my neighbors did the same. I didn’t see discrimination (I didn’t see many people of color, either). I didn’t see bigotry or racial animus (most people treated me fine). People seemed to be respectful to women (in my presence) and immigrants were welcomed (in so much as they were gainfully employed doing a lot of the grunt work to make our lives easier). So while it was clear that much of our political rhetoric and policies weren’t nearly so egalitarian, life seemed okay and it was easier to simply be a good person and not waste my time or energy fighting the evil in the world.
As I grew older and experienced more of life, I broadened my horizons. I got to know people who were unlike me - less privileged, less white, less male. Social media came along and made it easier to hear the personal stories of lots of people like that. I started paying attention to those stories. I saw the penalties for crack cocaine (used mostly by poor, black people) were 50 times harsher than those for powdered cocaine (used mostly by rich white people) in spite of it being the same drug. I heard arguments that gay people should not be allowed to marry because they didn’t deserve the same rights as ‘us’. I worked with poor people whose health suffered because they couldn’t afford care.
Then I got married. And had a daughter. The future suddenly held much more importance and the rights of women (and other disadvantaged groups) became personal. I watched as my country elected a man who bragged about sexual assault to the highest office of the land. I listened as he spewed racist and sexist rhetoric and a large proportion of our society cheered. I felt helpless when more people made it very clear a woman’s trauma is less meaningful than a judge’s partisanship, that her sincerity and credibility still count less than his blatant dishonesty and deception. This is not the society I want for my daughter.
Women are paid less for doing the same job with the same experience as men. Women-dominated professions have lower salaries than male-dominated ones requiring the same education. Women are still doing most of the care work for children and households and are still grossly under-represented in higher levels of business and politics. They pay more for reproductive health care and shoulder a higher burden for birth control, yet many in our society want to limit their choices over their own bodies.
When I talk to other privileged white people like myself, many bristle at the suggestion that we are privileged, though they don’t have any real argument with the data that proves it. They also talk a lot about how much better things are for the marginalized than they used to be - as if ‘better’ is good enough. Or claim the best way to help anyone is to improve the economy (which they often measure by GDP or the Stock Market). And they are quick to assert that they are colorblind towards people and ‘respect’ women - though they’re still somehow more worried about the .005% of men who might be falsely accused of sexual assault instead of the 15% of women who are assaulted. It’s all just excuses to say that the inequities and discrimination in our society are not their fault because they aren’t personally discriminating or disrespecting anyone. But they do vote.
And a vote for Republicans is a vote for a party that has made it perfectly clear that women are not meant to be treated equally or fairly. They oppose the Equal Rights Amendment. They oppose maternity leave requirements. They won’t reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. They want to allow employers to deny insurance coverage for women’s reproductive health. They vote for men who disparage women and they attack female candidates in a sexist manner.
Democrats aren’t perfect, but they run and elect many more female candidates. They support a woman’s choice and many laws to ensure equality. They advocate for maternity leave, childcare support, reproductive health coverage. They fight against gender discrimination, unequal pay, and systemic bias against women. By and large, they treat women with respect, not just personally but as an organization. They are working towards the ideal (equality) instead of away from it.
I believe electing women to office, especially Democratic women, not only improves the lives of women but everyone’s life, including my own. When women are included in leadership we get better decisions and better results. In general, women help. When women are allowed to fully contribute in the workplace our economy does better. When women are paid equally and supported in childcare their offspring - our future - do better. Our society benefits when everyone gets a fair chance. Equality may feel like discrimination to those currently receiving advantage, but it’s time we all put the good of the many ahead of the privilege of the few.
For my own sake, for my wife’s sake, and for my daughter’s sake, I actively support the only side in politics which will treat women with the respect they deserve. There are many reasons I vote for Democrats, but none are more important than my family’s future.
Who are you voting for?
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Fight for Democracy, Part 26: The GOP is Lying
It’s become a truism that all politicians lie. But it’s just as true that all people lie. We say our co-worker's new haircut looks great (it doesn’t). We don’t admit we stole a peanut butter cup out of the Halloween candy (we did). We brag (exaggerate) how much money we saved on our new car. Lying is a part of the social fabric and its both expected and understood - we tell small lies to make ourselves and others feel better in ways that don’t really hurt anyone.
But in real life we all know the difference between such lies and someone who is a liar. It’s fine that our cousin claims the trout he caught back when we were kids weighed five pounds (it was only two), but it’s wrong when he borrows money on the claim it’s for his kids birthday present when it really goes to his opioid addiction. We have no problem with Susie saying she’ll meet us at the bar at eight - we know she’s always late. We get justly pissed when Steve stands us up after promising to give a ride to the airport. Lies matter to the extent of their consequences and how frequent and large they are.
In that regard, the Republicans are LYING. It starts with the President, who lies so often about things large and small he can’t even keep track of his own lies. But it extends to the rest of the Party, who have to lie to support him, or at the very least deny his lies. And because their policy positions are truly out of step with the voters, they have to keep lying about what they have done and what they want to do.
The biggest lie right now is that Republicans support protections for pre-existing conditions (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/fact-check-trump-claims-gop-protecting-people-pre-existing-conditions-n923056). They voted 65 times to repeal the ACA, including to remove such protections. Many of the Republican states have signed on to a lawsuit arguing such protections are illegal. But because they know such protections are popular, they are straight up lying about their support. And people fall for it. (here’s a great podcast if you want to hear more about their health care lies: https://www.vox.com/the-weeds)
Republicans are lying about the deficit (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/deficit-under-trump-738621/). Never mind the many years they decried any Democratic attempt to increase spending and social programs by claiming to be fiscally conservative, Republicans real lie is that we need to cut programs like Social Security and Medicare in order to restore a balanced budget. Aside from the fact that our deficit is almost entirely due to their increased spending on the military and their cutting taxes on the wealthy, Social Security and Medicare are paid through payroll taxes and cutting them would not balance the budget (except for the government’s penchant to borrow from those funds and lump them into the general account). Republicans created a deficit and want to use it as an excuse to cut your benefits. That’s the truth.
They lie about taxes. First, the President’s ridiculous claim that Republicans will pass a 10% tax cut for the middle class before the election is actually impossible since Congress is not in session. But I think most people know he’s lying on that one. More importantly, they lied to get their tax bill passed (https://newrepublic.com/minutes/151965/trumps-haphazard-campaigning-causing-trouble-republicans-midterms) and now that the truth has been revealed - the benefits are going to the rich, companies are buying back stock instead of investing or raising wages, our deficit is exploding - they are quietly lying by omission in their campaigns. The tax bill was their biggest accomplishment - they all celebrated with beers at the White House - but now you won’t find a single Republican campaigning on it.
The Republican party is built on lies. Illegal immigration is not a threat - it’s at an historical low and immigrants are less likely to commit crimes. That caravan is not an invasion - it’s a few thousand poor families a long way from our border, walking towards us to legally ask for asylum. White people as a group are not oppressed (https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianthompson1/2018/02/18/the-racial-wealth-gap-addressing-americas-most-pressing-epidemic/#643059ec7a48), even if some do have it hard. Welfare fraud isn’t a huge problem (http://time.com/4711668/history-food-stamp-fraud/). Muslim terrorists do pose a threat - a small one - but right-wing terrorists pose a larger one (https://qz.com/1435885/data-shows-more-us-terror-attacks-by-right-wing-and-religious-extremists/). Republicans even lie about supporting the Constitution! (https://www.npr.org/2018/10/30/662335612/legal-scholars-say-14th-amendment-doubt-trump-can-end-birthright-citizenship-wit)
All politicians distort the truth. They parse their language and cherry-pick numbers to present themselves and their ideas in the best light. They reverse the process to discredit their opponents. But the President has ushered in a new age where outright lying is not just commonplace but is a strategic approach to politics. Judging from the comments his supporters make, and the backing he receives from the Republican Congress, the lies are working and are here to stay. The only way to fight them is to keep yourself informed and to vote for the truth (or at least something closer to the truth).
But in real life we all know the difference between such lies and someone who is a liar. It’s fine that our cousin claims the trout he caught back when we were kids weighed five pounds (it was only two), but it’s wrong when he borrows money on the claim it’s for his kids birthday present when it really goes to his opioid addiction. We have no problem with Susie saying she’ll meet us at the bar at eight - we know she’s always late. We get justly pissed when Steve stands us up after promising to give a ride to the airport. Lies matter to the extent of their consequences and how frequent and large they are.
In that regard, the Republicans are LYING. It starts with the President, who lies so often about things large and small he can’t even keep track of his own lies. But it extends to the rest of the Party, who have to lie to support him, or at the very least deny his lies. And because their policy positions are truly out of step with the voters, they have to keep lying about what they have done and what they want to do.
The biggest lie right now is that Republicans support protections for pre-existing conditions (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/fact-check-trump-claims-gop-protecting-people-pre-existing-conditions-n923056). They voted 65 times to repeal the ACA, including to remove such protections. Many of the Republican states have signed on to a lawsuit arguing such protections are illegal. But because they know such protections are popular, they are straight up lying about their support. And people fall for it. (here’s a great podcast if you want to hear more about their health care lies: https://www.vox.com/the-weeds)
Republicans are lying about the deficit (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/deficit-under-trump-738621/). Never mind the many years they decried any Democratic attempt to increase spending and social programs by claiming to be fiscally conservative, Republicans real lie is that we need to cut programs like Social Security and Medicare in order to restore a balanced budget. Aside from the fact that our deficit is almost entirely due to their increased spending on the military and their cutting taxes on the wealthy, Social Security and Medicare are paid through payroll taxes and cutting them would not balance the budget (except for the government’s penchant to borrow from those funds and lump them into the general account). Republicans created a deficit and want to use it as an excuse to cut your benefits. That’s the truth.
They lie about taxes. First, the President’s ridiculous claim that Republicans will pass a 10% tax cut for the middle class before the election is actually impossible since Congress is not in session. But I think most people know he’s lying on that one. More importantly, they lied to get their tax bill passed (https://newrepublic.com/minutes/151965/trumps-haphazard-campaigning-causing-trouble-republicans-midterms) and now that the truth has been revealed - the benefits are going to the rich, companies are buying back stock instead of investing or raising wages, our deficit is exploding - they are quietly lying by omission in their campaigns. The tax bill was their biggest accomplishment - they all celebrated with beers at the White House - but now you won’t find a single Republican campaigning on it.
The Republican party is built on lies. Illegal immigration is not a threat - it’s at an historical low and immigrants are less likely to commit crimes. That caravan is not an invasion - it’s a few thousand poor families a long way from our border, walking towards us to legally ask for asylum. White people as a group are not oppressed (https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianthompson1/2018/02/18/the-racial-wealth-gap-addressing-americas-most-pressing-epidemic/#643059ec7a48), even if some do have it hard. Welfare fraud isn’t a huge problem (http://time.com/4711668/history-food-stamp-fraud/). Muslim terrorists do pose a threat - a small one - but right-wing terrorists pose a larger one (https://qz.com/1435885/data-shows-more-us-terror-attacks-by-right-wing-and-religious-extremists/). Republicans even lie about supporting the Constitution! (https://www.npr.org/2018/10/30/662335612/legal-scholars-say-14th-amendment-doubt-trump-can-end-birthright-citizenship-wit)
All politicians distort the truth. They parse their language and cherry-pick numbers to present themselves and their ideas in the best light. They reverse the process to discredit their opponents. But the President has ushered in a new age where outright lying is not just commonplace but is a strategic approach to politics. Judging from the comments his supporters make, and the backing he receives from the Republican Congress, the lies are working and are here to stay. The only way to fight them is to keep yourself informed and to vote for the truth (or at least something closer to the truth).
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Fight for Democracy, Part 25: It’s Not a Fucking Game!
One of my biggest frustrations with our political discourse is the many sports analogies which get used to describe the process. We ‘lost’ that one. The Dems got outplayed. Our team needs to do a better job at [whatever]. It’s not just that the analogies are fundamentally wrong - the winners and losers in politics are largely determined by the spectators (voters), not the players on the court - but those analogies and terms represent how voters tend to absolve themselves of responsibility.
When we complain about ‘our team’, it’s passing the blame for failure off on those who represent us. Sometimes that’s valid. Sometimes our representatives vote for something that they campaigned against. Sometimes our Party takes positions we disagree with. But most of the winning and losing that really upsets people are the fights that happen along party lines, and those are decided by whichever ‘team’ has more players, and it’s the voting populace who decides that. We the voters are the ones who score the most points by dint of who we vote for. While any single person only has a very small influence on the result of politics, the sum total of voters are the ones who decide who wins.
We don’t want to face this because it means we are the ones who failed when we lose. But it’s the truth. We didn’t do enough to make sure our representatives were out there fighting for our beliefs. We didn’t do enough to help get Democrats voted into office. We didn’t do enough to voice our opinions to make sure they represent our wishes. When Democrats vote against your position, how can you complain if you didn’t do anything to contact your representative to tell them which way you’d like to vote? It’s true that some people do more than others, and some people do all they can to help their team, so maybe you are one of those who volunteers for campaigns, who donates money to support your ‘team’, who contacts your officials on every issue and stays politically active. But if not, you need to look longer in the mirror if you want to find out who’s to blame for our current situation.
But it’s not just ourselves we need to blame. It’s our neighbors. When Democrats lose a vote to a Republican majority, the blame should fall on the voters who elected such representation. And I think that’s the real uncomfortable truth people want to avoid. We blame our ‘team’s’ loss in the election on the candidate. On the campaign they ran or the message they used. We complain about how and where they spent their money. We yell from the cheap seats about the play-calling, the tactics used, the effort they put in, and even their choice of graphic design. But they lose because the people sitting next to us voted for the other guy. Because our neighbor votes Republican out of some misguided notion of economic prosperity. Because our uncle Larry is old-school soft racist, and there’s no changing him now. Because so many white people vote out of fear and resentment when they are doing better than every other group by every measure. We excuse their behavior because it seems too hard to change and too awful to admit the truth.
The truth is that we have, by and large, figured out which side is right and which is wrong. Which one is inclusive and which is exclusive. Which one values women and minorities and which one discriminates against them. We are not deceived by dog-whistle racism, much less attracted to it. We are not taken in by deceptive descriptions of tax plans and healthcare systems, much less outright lies about policies and their effects. Somehow we have the intelligence/enlightenment/moral character to see through the media hype, campaign ads, and generally crappy political discourse to recognize which side is better, but to expect others to do the same is asking too much. Screw that.
Sure, there is always a lot of blame to go around. And I fully realize changing people’s minds is hard and it’s unrealistic to expect most people to have the time or inclination to dive as deep into politics as I go. But it’s really not that hard. One party is explicitly racist. Their de facto leader spouts racist beliefs all the time. Their stated policies are clearly bigoted and they advocate for the right to discriminate. They routinely win the support of the KKK and the alt-right. And if you look at who their players are you will see a stunning lack of diversity in race, gender, and religious beliefs. People don’t vote off the nuanced political positions you hear pundits talk about. They don’t have a deep understanding of macroeconomics or even a sense of how their health care system is structured. People are tribal and vote off emotional responses, and when they vote for Republicans they are telling you who they are at a fundamental level and it’s bad. They are bad.
Not wholly bad. They are mostly kind and decent human beings who treat their neighbors (you) with respect. They volunteer for little league and work hard and contribute to our society. But the ethos they apply to the people they interact with directly is far different than for groups as a concept. They support a racist organization which wins them over by disparaging the Other and dehumanizing people. They vote for a corrupt organization that seeks to curtail democracy and scoffs at our laws and norms. That’s bad. They’re bad.
And bad things will happen if Republicans win. Will KEEP happening. Hate crimes will continue to rise. Millions of people will lose health care (thousands will die). Children fleeing violence will be torn from their parents and locked up in cages. Our environment will be harmed and our entire planet will continue on its path towards inhabitability. Our world will involve more suffering even if our own lives will not. It’s not a fucking game and don’t you dare think of it as one.
I think it’s fair to complain about losses, to search for things ‘our team’ can do better. Messaging is important, financial support is necessary, and our Party leaders need to be held accountable. But never forget where the ultimate power lies: with We the People. It’s still true. If we want our side to win we need to fight harder for them. And if they lose, it will be because a large portion of our society made a reprehensible choice, whether they see it that way or not. You don’t have to hate your neighbor, but you should keep a clear mind on who really makes up the other ‘team’. They are who you are fighting against.
When we complain about ‘our team’, it’s passing the blame for failure off on those who represent us. Sometimes that’s valid. Sometimes our representatives vote for something that they campaigned against. Sometimes our Party takes positions we disagree with. But most of the winning and losing that really upsets people are the fights that happen along party lines, and those are decided by whichever ‘team’ has more players, and it’s the voting populace who decides that. We the voters are the ones who score the most points by dint of who we vote for. While any single person only has a very small influence on the result of politics, the sum total of voters are the ones who decide who wins.
We don’t want to face this because it means we are the ones who failed when we lose. But it’s the truth. We didn’t do enough to make sure our representatives were out there fighting for our beliefs. We didn’t do enough to help get Democrats voted into office. We didn’t do enough to voice our opinions to make sure they represent our wishes. When Democrats vote against your position, how can you complain if you didn’t do anything to contact your representative to tell them which way you’d like to vote? It’s true that some people do more than others, and some people do all they can to help their team, so maybe you are one of those who volunteers for campaigns, who donates money to support your ‘team’, who contacts your officials on every issue and stays politically active. But if not, you need to look longer in the mirror if you want to find out who’s to blame for our current situation.
But it’s not just ourselves we need to blame. It’s our neighbors. When Democrats lose a vote to a Republican majority, the blame should fall on the voters who elected such representation. And I think that’s the real uncomfortable truth people want to avoid. We blame our ‘team’s’ loss in the election on the candidate. On the campaign they ran or the message they used. We complain about how and where they spent their money. We yell from the cheap seats about the play-calling, the tactics used, the effort they put in, and even their choice of graphic design. But they lose because the people sitting next to us voted for the other guy. Because our neighbor votes Republican out of some misguided notion of economic prosperity. Because our uncle Larry is old-school soft racist, and there’s no changing him now. Because so many white people vote out of fear and resentment when they are doing better than every other group by every measure. We excuse their behavior because it seems too hard to change and too awful to admit the truth.
The truth is that we have, by and large, figured out which side is right and which is wrong. Which one is inclusive and which is exclusive. Which one values women and minorities and which one discriminates against them. We are not deceived by dog-whistle racism, much less attracted to it. We are not taken in by deceptive descriptions of tax plans and healthcare systems, much less outright lies about policies and their effects. Somehow we have the intelligence/enlightenment/moral character to see through the media hype, campaign ads, and generally crappy political discourse to recognize which side is better, but to expect others to do the same is asking too much. Screw that.
Sure, there is always a lot of blame to go around. And I fully realize changing people’s minds is hard and it’s unrealistic to expect most people to have the time or inclination to dive as deep into politics as I go. But it’s really not that hard. One party is explicitly racist. Their de facto leader spouts racist beliefs all the time. Their stated policies are clearly bigoted and they advocate for the right to discriminate. They routinely win the support of the KKK and the alt-right. And if you look at who their players are you will see a stunning lack of diversity in race, gender, and religious beliefs. People don’t vote off the nuanced political positions you hear pundits talk about. They don’t have a deep understanding of macroeconomics or even a sense of how their health care system is structured. People are tribal and vote off emotional responses, and when they vote for Republicans they are telling you who they are at a fundamental level and it’s bad. They are bad.
Not wholly bad. They are mostly kind and decent human beings who treat their neighbors (you) with respect. They volunteer for little league and work hard and contribute to our society. But the ethos they apply to the people they interact with directly is far different than for groups as a concept. They support a racist organization which wins them over by disparaging the Other and dehumanizing people. They vote for a corrupt organization that seeks to curtail democracy and scoffs at our laws and norms. That’s bad. They’re bad.
And bad things will happen if Republicans win. Will KEEP happening. Hate crimes will continue to rise. Millions of people will lose health care (thousands will die). Children fleeing violence will be torn from their parents and locked up in cages. Our environment will be harmed and our entire planet will continue on its path towards inhabitability. Our world will involve more suffering even if our own lives will not. It’s not a fucking game and don’t you dare think of it as one.
I think it’s fair to complain about losses, to search for things ‘our team’ can do better. Messaging is important, financial support is necessary, and our Party leaders need to be held accountable. But never forget where the ultimate power lies: with We the People. It’s still true. If we want our side to win we need to fight harder for them. And if they lose, it will be because a large portion of our society made a reprehensible choice, whether they see it that way or not. You don’t have to hate your neighbor, but you should keep a clear mind on who really makes up the other ‘team’. They are who you are fighting against.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)