We had an election, my side lost - I’ll live just fine.
I’m still dealing with the shock - here are some areas I am
thinking about:
CHANGE - We are in a time of tremendous, chaotic
change. In the ‘60s Dylan sang “… the
times they are a changin’…” We are going
through a massive, worldwide change today.
Clinton represented a continuation, trying to cling to the notion that
there is no real change out there, it can all be the same, just keep the
correct people in power. Trump
represents undeniable change. The voters
have reflected the earthquakes of change.
EARTHQUAKE – I think the forces that put Trump into office,
that voted for Brexit in Britain, that are building in Europe, need earthquakes
in order to avoid future bigger earthquake later – we do not want a real civil
war in this country, or in the European countries either.
VISION - Each side of the political chasm has its vision of
what that change is all about. On the
left the change is supposed to lead us to greater inclusiveness, caring,
compassion, community. On the right the
change is supposed to lead us to greater opportunity, freedom,
individuality. Both are wonderful
visions, and they seem to be diametrically opposed to each other, but they
don’t have to be. I can imagine a land
where each is a powerful and free individual, living in supportive community
environments presenting opportunity, educations, and nurturing.
DELEGITIMIZING THE ELECTION - This country is evenly divided
and I am not happy with the efforts on the left to see Trump as an illegitimate
president. This has been going on, on
both sides of the divide, since at least the year 2000. Many on the left never accepted that Bush was
a legitimate president because of the Florida/Supreme Court debacle. Many on the right never accepted Obama as
legitimate – from the “birther” to “undercover Muslim” accusations. We have elections, the people decide, we need
to live with it and do our best to live our personal lives, to agree or oppose
politically as we see fit, and to work within the constitutional framework of
the country. If we lose, we lose. We have constitutional political remedies,
but to refuse to accept the legitimacy is a path to undermining who we are.
INVISIBILITY - What is clear to me is that an entire group
of people had felt invisible and they spoke loudly and clearly that they are
here – forgotten whites elected Trump.
At the same time, another group of people made it very clear that they
felt invisible – inner city minorities – and Black Lives Matter spoke loudly
and clearly that they are here too. Each
feels invisible. Each feels disrespected. Each feels forgotten and abused.
I can imagine a world where the forgotten whites and the
forgotten blacks (and browns and reds and yellows) can look at each other and
say “I know how you feel, I feel the same way”.
PARTIES – Each party needs to dramatically change. The Democrats, amazingly, were defeated by
the working class. How on earth did the party of the working class change so
dramatically that it ended up sneering at the dirty fingernail folks? The Republicans probably feel pretty
vindicated right now, but I think they have been stuck in the rigid ideologies
of Ayn Rand libertarianism, fundamentalist Christianity, and budget cutting
absolutists. I don't think Trump believes in any of that, and they are about to do major battle, it seems to me.
ELECTIONS – I think there are two big problems with our
electoral process. First, the primary
system is deeply flawed. I would like to
see the end of caucuses, and a regional primary system that rotates the order
of the regional primary elections every four years. Second, the electoral college is certainly
under attack after electing the loser of the popular vote twice in the last
five elections.
GERRYMANDERING – I think the most undemocratic thing in
America is the gerrymandering of the voting districts by the party in power in
each of the states. This radicalizes the
representatives to Congress and is a deliberate and expert and totally
effective way for either party in power in each state to keep themselves in
power in perpetuity. It is a scandal,
and it is legal. We need a new federal
law or a Supreme Court overthrow of gerrymandering, and that should be a
bi-partisan effort, it seems to me.
DEMONIZATION – Please, can we stop demonizing the other
side? I know there are racists, sexists,
homophobes, and white supremacists who voted for Trump, and that appalls me,
but I believe that vast majority of Trump voters are not any of that. I know that extremists on the left voted for
Obama but that doesn’t mean the Obama voters were communists or socialists, or
trying to take people’s guns away, or force people to be gay, or end religion
in the country. The dehumanizing of
those we disagree with politically diminishes the humanity of them, and of
ourselves. And forbids compassionate
listening and understanding.
This is a wakeup call in many ways, but the one that stays
with me the most is the loud shouts of those who felt invisible. They are here, they are as good as anyone
else, they need to be heard, and they have been.
All that being said, I am feeling anxious about how this is
all going to play out. Mr. Trump does
not inspire much in the way of confidence in me, but I do wish him and our
country well.
