Do you ever look at our Presidential race, and ask yourself is that the best we have to choose from? We, the United States, can find no other individuals as better leaders and intellectuals to set the direction of our country? Do you believe that any of the candidates are actually the best leaders our country has to offer? Or do you find yourself so angered by the other candidate that you question how any of your friends could possibly be voting for them?
Undoubtedly, something I say in this blog will eventually offend you. (In fact I have a future post planned about how this missing right from the Bill of Rights is the Right to be Offended.) My hope for today's post is that it helps you think beyond the spoonfed, media soundbites. This is not designed to make you change your vote. It is designed to challenge you to truly examine why you vote the way you do.
Divide and Conquer
American politics are dominated by the two political parties, Republican and Democratic. I know that is not the news supporters of the other various parties (looking at you Libertarians) want to hear. But if you follow the money and the number of actual politicians in office from each party, it is obvious where the power in this country lives.
Over time, the two party system has transformed into a divisive scheme to siphon money from both the average citizen and from businesses. The polarizing of the American populace is not an accident! It is a strategy based on greed and power that is tearing at the soul of our country.
This is never more evident than during the Presidential primaries. Each party is trying to rally their "core" consisting of the far right or the far left depending on the party. Candidates all try to establish themselves as the "most conservative" or "most liberal" to win the nomination of their party. They take extreme position and draw hard lines about their policies and beliefs. Then once they get past the primaries, they rush to soften their position to appeal to the voters in the middle.
Apathy of "The Middle"
To win a general election, a candidate needs votes from those in the middle. By "middle" I am referring to people who are not far enough right or left to be counted among either candidates core. The reality is that unlike the core, it is hard to motivate the middle to vote. By definition, the middle does not believe all of the policies of either candidate. This leads to apathy and lower voter turnout.
There are two strategies that have proven successful in getting voters in the middle to the polls. We see these two strategies increasingly utilized in our political races today. The two strategies are: 1. Give them something or someone to vote AGAINST. and 2. Continue moving people from the middle to the core by polarizing them on specific issues.
(Bonus: Both of these strategies have the added effect of getting the core and the corporations to funnel money to the parties. More on this later.)
Give me someone to vote for!
Do you ever find yourself thinking those words? Candidates spend the majority of their time telling you why not to vote for the other candidate. This type of negative politics is prevalent for one obvious reason - it works. Recently though, this has become even more pernicious in that not only are you told why not to vote for a candidate; now they prey on your fear to tell you that you must vote against the other candidate. No matter where you fall in the political spectrum, I challenge you to listen to all the candidates and recognize how often this is their message.
It is the politics of fear. They talk about all the horrific consequences if the other person wins. This keeps their base supporters motivated and looks to scare the middle to the polls to vote. They largely ignore the same arguments being made about them. If they give you any positions as to why you should vote for them; they will be just a couple of key items designed to keep the focus off other issues where they may be weaker. The days of the inspirational leader are behind us until we can find that rare individual who can breakdown the politics of fear and deliver a positive message that moves the middle to action.
Where's your sign?
Do you realize all the ways the parties attempt to label you? It would be interesting if we all had to go through life with a sign on our back that outlined all of our labels. Even if we limited it to the ones we accept about ourselves, the list would be substantial. The political system thrives on labels. They want to label you. They want more labels that belong in their column than the opposition party. They want to convince you that the labels that fall in their favor are more important than those that don't. And the worse part is once they have you convinced that you should be with them; they want you to disavow any labels that do not conform to the core beliefs of the party.
Imagine you are in a room and a man at the front is calling out these labels. You are required to write them on your sign if they apply to you. Here are just a fragment of the labels being called out:
Male, Female, Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Minority, Racist, Pro Life, Pro Choice, Gun Owner, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Atheist, Pro War, Isolationist, Free Trader, Protectionist, 1%, Middle Class, Poor, Gay, Straight, Conservative, Liberal, Old, Young, Highly Educated, White Collar, Blue Collar, Married, Immigrant, Establishment, and on and on and on....
Then they start telling you to put each label under the headings of Democrat or Republican. They tell you look at the column which has the fewest labels in it, and you really should reconsider changing those or disavowing them so that you better fit the column the majority of labels are in.
If this sounds simplistic or silly, I challenge you to listen to the messages delivered to you through media by the various parties. How many of these messages are centered around reinforcing the labeling of the middle? Each party has the agenda of polarizing the middle by attaching enough of their labels to you that you move into their column.
Follow the $$$$$$$
I will write more on this at another time...but look at all the money being generated by this system of polarizing the nation. Special interest groups, activist groups, corporate pacts, and even media networks are funded and enriched by the system.
FEAR SELLS. HATE SELLS.
AMERICA PAYS THE PRICE.
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