White House

This is my reaction to the recent elections. I have posted two blogs before this one following the elections. Those were heartfelt and intellectually honest. Today’s post speaks to my feelings about the outcome of the election for the White House.

Sending a convicted felon, an admitted misogynist, a dishonest businessman, a totally bankrupt academic, and a self-centered boob to represent our nation to the world and our own citizens, is a huge mistake.

Oddly, this outcome is not about the candidate. Nor is it a reflection on the value and honor of the competing candidates, Harris and Walz.

No, this is a reflection on the voters. We – you and I – elected this man to office. It is on us that he will assume the presidency once again. How could this happen? Why did it happen?

Several reasons can be identified. Let’s look at some of them.

Lazy voter. This used to be measured by how many eligible voters didn’t bother to vote. Today, it can be measured by how many people simply didn’t understand the issues and candidates. Research is work. It takes time, interest and discipline to pursue the facts and historical accuracy of those facts. Not all opinions are accurate. Not all printed material is honest or true. Only the facts matter when voting. What does the candidate stand for? What are the issues important to us to support? Which votes do the most to continue our form of government?

Believing what we read. As consumers and capitalists, we are used to people and businesses telling us what to buy and why. We know that some of these messages are not accurate. We know manipulation of consumers and their decisions are expected. It is human nature. So is politics. People actively ‘sell’ their ideologies to likely voters. This is done to gain votes that place people in positions of authority. These people are expected to work to further the power of ideologies and individuals.

International affairs complexity. This is another form of lazy voter. Foreign relations rely on understanding global history, international trade, political ideologies of foreign nations and their people, as well as a grasp on what competing national powers want with more power. These are difficult to understand. It takes reading and even some academic training. Either that or a large amount of trust in our leaders; we hope they and their staff understand the complexities to properly manage our nation’s work in this area. Not many people know much about the fine points of international relations. Our election of leaders is crucial in this arena. Surprise! Not many voters know how to gather enough information to make an informed choice for such leaders. Lazy is the simple term to describe voters here. Academically weak voter is another.

Educational disconnect. Our regional and national system of education is a good one. Not everyone is required or even expected to participate. But the value of an educated populace cannot be calculated enough. Using education to expand life’s experience and enrich the person, takes continued commitment and discipline. Education is properly used in everything we do in life. It helps us understand the world and community around us. It is a must in a democracy reliant on its people to make good decisions when voting. But today there is an anti-education sentiment working in our nation. I think this is another example of a lazy voter, but that may be too simple a conclusion. Education must be used all the time to be effective. It takes work to do that.

There are other reasons for poor voting behavior but the above are enough for today’s discussion. The real question raised is what do we do about this problem? Can anything be done? Doing nothing appears to have caused us to reach this point. Can we even fix the problem? Is democracy a doomed form of governance?

These are serious questions. The outcome of the 2024 presidential election will create a continuum of action and outcomes. We will observe all of these as time progresses over the next four years. Will we also weigh the cause of such actions leading back to the election itself? Lazy voters won’t; serious voters will. But the latter don’t have the numbers to matter in elections evidently. Only the lazy ones do. Unless we as a people make the effort to change that reality.

Will we?

November 11, 2024

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