Hello Commuters, I guess there is only one thing to talk about today and that is the presidential election that occurred last Tuesday Nov. 8. Donald Trump will be the 45th President of the United States of America. For me, this has come as a surprise, and from the reactions I am seeing in social media, conventional media and in discussions around campus I am not the only one surprised by this outcome. If we go by demographics published on the FCC website for 42% of you this was your first presidential election cycle. Unfortunately, it has been a particularly toxic cycle and in the aftermath I have noticed a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt carried around by those who supported Hillary Clinton, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson or other candidates. In light of that fear today I would like to talk about moving forward, dealing with your fears, the importance of civil discourse in politics and shedding some of the toxicity as we move forward.
So, first and foremost, for those who did support Donald Trump in his bid for office, I must say congratulations. With the results of the Senate and House elections, the Republican Party firmly has control of our legislative and executive branches moving forward. While I personally do not agree with some of the planks of the platform, I will not prejudice myself against the elected government and will see what comes to pass in the months and years ahead. This is an opportunity to prove that conservative economic theories can work. This does not mean that I agree with the administration, and this also does not mean that I will not be vocal about my disagreements. The freedom to express disagreement is a cornerstone of our political system and one of our most important freedoms.
What I will not do, and what I implore every one of you to not do, is participate in the vitriolic hyperbole and mass generalizations that we have seen emerge on the political landscape. I will not sling mud; I will not paint broad caricatures of my political opponents to try and marginalize their views and I will not make assumptions about their character based on there political opinions. Over the last 15 years I have seen a massive shift on how we discuss politics. These changes in the method of our political discourse has caused great divisions between all Americans and has been incredibly effective at polarizing us all and driving us away from compromise and understanding. This growing division is far more scary to me than any single administration could ever be, because the damage it is leaving will leave scars that are around long after all of us are gone.
We spend far too much of our efforts focusing on this “us versus them” mentality. Democrat versus republican, statist versus libertarian, conservative versus liberal, etc. In this maelstrom of conflict we have lost focus on the fact that first and foremost we are Americans. We should not hate each other; we should not fear each other and we should trust that while we may not agree on the methodology, at the end of the day, our goals are the same. The Trump campaign stated that it wished to “Make America Great Again”, the Clinton campaign claimed that we are “stronger together.” I say that America can only be great when we work together.
Working together does not mean that you have to agree with what the other side is doing, it does not mean that you should not fight for what you believe in. What this means is that we need to go back to arguing the policies, not the people. We do not win when our political discourse is distilled down to vitriolic insults, when instead of battling about policies we are battling about massive generalizations. We do not get stronger when we focus on the so-called “type” of person that supports one position over another. Instead, we only get stronger when we focus on what the actual positions are and what the long-term implications of those positions may be.
If you have not yet, watch Stephen Colbert’s post-election reaction from Showtime’s election coverage. I’ve embedded it into this article and it discusses precisely what I am trying to say here.
“How did our politics get so poisonous?” Colbert asked. “I think it’s because we overdosed, especially this year. We drank too much of the poison. You take a little bit of it so you can hate the other side and it tastes kind of good and you like how it feels. And there’s a gentle high to the condemnation.”
It’s easy to isolate yourself from your opposition, to paint them with broad strokes and pretend that because of some perceived flaw they can’t possibly be right. It can make you feel better about yourself, and your own decisions when you are “not one of them.” It is much easier to project this outward than it is to accept that you may be wrong. Sadly like most easy things that can make you feel good, that gentle high is addictive and feeding the more you feed your fear and hate the stronger it will grow.
One final note before I sign off from this editorial and continue to prepare The Commuter for you all. I am seeing a lot of people grasping at straws, looking for loopholes in the process or otherwise trying to undermine the results of the election because they disagree with it. Please stop. There will be no faithless elector scenario. There has never been a time when a President-Elect was not nominated by the Electoral College, and while it’s technically possible, it just will not happen. Not only is focusing on this just feeding a false hope, it is an extremely dangerous line of thought. You cannot be willing to subvert a system because you have not won. If you are willing to accept that outcome (the Electoral College overriding their pledged vote), you can expect that it will come back to haunt you some day down the line. There is always the possibility that your chosen candidate will win in a similar very polarized election, and then you would have to accept the same possibility. It invalidates the entire process and runs counter to the framework of our government. If you do not agree with the Electoral College, or winner takes all vote allocation, then you need to get involved in the political process and try to make reform happen. Instead of placing faith into an impossible scenario get involved in the process, and I don’t just mean during election years.
If you believe that America is going in the wrong direction then remain active. Talk about your issues; discuss them with your friends and colleagues, your family and most importantly with your elected representatives. Make sure your Congressional representatives know how you feel, and make sure that if they are not representing you adequately that you vote them out of office. Our government only changes when the collective “we” force them to, and the only way we can force them to do anything is to make sure that we let them know our demands and hold them to their promises.
Just please remember when your talking about politics, or anything controversial, that the other person you are talking with is also a person. Remember that if they disagree with you does not make them any less of a person. Do not just dismiss someone as incompetent because they hold a different opinion. Look at it as an opportunity to learn more about the issue and how people feel about it. Don’t just build up an insular bubble or an echo chamber. You can’t grow, you can’t connect with others and most importantly if and when that bubble is broken it will only lead to even more extreme feelings of disenfranchisement or disillusion. Keep your mind open, and always remember that you may be wrong as well. It’s a hard thing to accept, but no matter how strongly you believe in something, you may not be correct. Accept that and move forward, or deny it and continue to contribute to the toxicity.
Don’t agree? I would love to hear from you — contact me at [email protected] or even personally at [email protected]. I hope you all enjoy The Commuter this month, and I am looking forward to bringing you the print issue in December.
