Good evening, my readers. The 2016 general election is well under way. There are roughly a hundred days until the election, and what I am seeing is an overwhelming climate of fear. It’s palpable, powerful, and is being used to shut down all arguments coming from progressives about the myriad of revelations in the Democratic primary.
As an observer of politics, I have to speak to this as I see it. While I of course can understand the concerns of many parts of the electorate about what a Trump presidency could mean, I have to say that it is entirely too much. You read that right. Operating out of a place of fear when it comes to political analysis only paralyzes the agency of those affected.
Of course, it’s understandable that people of color are concerned about a further right wing polarization. However, how does imagining a nightmare scenario where Hillary Clinton is not elected help face that possibility? There is no voting our way out of many of the threats we face right now… so what will be different after November? With all that we are facing right now, it’s pointless to be quaking in our boots about what might happen.
I should say here that in the opinion of this writer, no matter who is in office, there’s going to be a hard way to go for many of us. You can argue about which one will be “better” but it will be mostly an exercise in self delusion.
The tactics that are being used to rally the people to vote that I am seeing are far from effective. If it’s not outright shaming people into voting for “a lesser evil” with adult bullying tactics, it’s alleging that it’s somehow a statement of “privilege” to not vote. Wow.This is what civic engagement is reduced to: browbeating and guilt trips. This is sure to turn people off, especially if you plan on screaming at them for the next three months.
Having participated in five election cycles personally, this is really overdrive. Despite the frenzy that everyone is worked up into right now, the world will not end because the president has changed.
Besides, what does this spirit of fear-mongering look like in the light of our history as a people? This post is my, “hey everybody calm that scary stuff down” wake up call.
Maybe it’s just me.. but I am not scared. Still voting my conscious, and no one is going to advise me to do otherwise. You still have to decide for yourself if you will allow your vote to be held hostage. You have about 99 days to decide.