The Unsettling Vie for a Voting Veto

Verdict

 

Lately I’ve noticed an abundance of anti-voting content.

 

I empathize deeply with the frustration, anger, and dissolution around the current political climate. Things are rotten on both of the dominant sides, and there’s no major option that truly represents the will and needs of the people.

 

It feels increasingly as if voting is merely a meaningless act of symbolism; a ghost of institutions past that passively lingers to remind us what has been – haunts of former victories and battles.

 

We continue to see corporate lobbyists and dissociated incumbents (who are well past their expiration date) maintain their chokehold on our government and its policies. We see repeated acts of civil rights violations and criminal activity from the very people who have been charged with the task of protecting and serving the citizens (citizens who, it’s critical to note, pay their salaries). We see an abundance of greed, neglect, bigotry, cowardice, autocracy, and “ism”s.

 

Again and again we see neon signs directing us toward despondency.

 

Politics in the U.S. have become a hollow performance – clowns putting on a show so that they can point to a media clip and claim that they “did something.” (Hint: holding up a Bible and ripping up a piece of paper doesn’t actually do or mean anything.)

 

The despair of it all resonates in my very bones. My body aches with the weight of knowing that the fundamental structure of our system is eroding. I can feel the compromised foundation crumbling, and it seems to be happening on an insurmountable scale. The chasm between the current political system and the needs of the people has become a Grand Canyon, with hateful winds whipping the sides further and further apart.

 

It feels as if voting has gotten us nowhere. The U.S. political system is designed to oppress (whether intentionally or not), and relying on this same system to liberate and uplift seems foolish, at best. How can the system that was built to limit certain communities’ rights be used to empower those same communities?

 

This is such an important and complicated question, and I’m not claiming to know the answer(s). There are plenty of people who have dedicated their lives to solving this riddle, and I would ask that anyone taking the time to read this also take the time to research those warriors’ answers. I may share thoughts, but they share something much more critical: solutions.

 

• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) – Look up your local chapter!

• National Lawyers Guild – Non-profit providing legal assistance to oppressed populations.

• Campaign Zero – Research-based solution proposals to move toward ending police brutality.

 

If you have others you’d like to share, please let me know!

 

With all this overwhelming despair, I can easily empathize with the anti-voting mentality. The choices, frankly, suck. Of the two viable candidates for president, neither one represents my beliefs or values. One is the fucking orange idiot Antichrist, and the other is a wolf in sheep’s clothing who hides his bourgeoisie narcissism under a cloak of “moderacy.”

 

If it isn’t obvious, I despise this choice. And yet, it is the choice that we have right now.

 

Vengeance

 

Considering all of this, the calls for revolution have certainly titillated me. The dream of overthrowing this blatantly corrupt system and replacing it with a people-driven power that provides equal rights and true justice is tempting, to say the absolute least. This fantasy gets me feeling all kinds of juicy, seducing me with the fight for rapid, meaningful, and much-needed change. Just thinking about it makes me want to light something on fire!

 

The problem is that rapid country-wide revolution rarely leads to long-lasting results, and often results in disastrous, unintended consequences.

 

In the midst of everything going on, my husband and I have had many long conversations about the current world happenings and different options for enacting and participating in meaningful change. In many cases, we end up recognizing just how complicated everything is.

 

For some brief context, my husband is Italian (yes, from Italy). His grandmother back-sassed literal Nazis who were camped out on her family’s land, and had her life threatened for it. He grew up hearing personal accounts of both World Wars, from people who were actually there, who lost friends and family to wartime violence on their own country’s land, who witnessed firsthand the fallout of rapid, violent revolution.

 

The U.S. does not know what revolution means. The closest we’ve come is the initial split from England, followed eventually by the Civil War. We have not known war or revolution on our own territory.* At best, we are loosely acquainted.

*Quick acknowledgment that the U.S. is actually the territory of numerous Native nations, and I use the term “our own” to loosely refer to those living within the borders of this country, many of which are descendants of colonizers and those who were unwillingly displaced by said colonists.

 

The U.S. does not know the horror, the violence, nor the fallout of true revolution. So, when there are calls for revolution in the U.S. it comes across as naive – a child demanding responsibilities that they are not prepared for, with consequences that they do not understand. I suppose privilege can have that effect.

 

With all that said, there are those that have dedicated their efforts to understanding and preparing for a true revolution. These people have a strategic approach to enacting sweeping change, and I’m consistently impressed by their knowledge and tactics. I often find myself inspired by these visionaries, even if I’m not personally 100% aligned with their approach.

 

In any case, the U.S. (broadly speaking) does not have an in-depth understanding of what it means to undergo a revolutionary political overhaul. We simply have not witnessed it firsthand (at least not extensively), and I do not believe that we are prepared for the repercussions.

 

Looking at the history of global revolutions we see some serious dangers (beyond the initial violence). Many major revolutionary systemic overhauls have resulted in counterproductive, violent, and oppressive authoritarian regimes. Some infamous examples stand out:

• The rise of the Nazis in Germany was the result of people demanding swift change in the wake of poor government management of harsh punishments following WW1.*
• The rise of Mao Zedong’s totalitarian regime in China was the result of a class revolution stemming from  widespread discontent among those with lower income.*
• The rise of Lenin (and subsequently the dictatorship of Stalin) in the Soviet Union was the result of poor aristocratic handling of WW1 losses, resulting in livelihood crises for anyone who wasn’t rich.*

 

*These are undeniably oversimplified versions of these revolutions, and I am in no way attempting to claim extensive knowledge. My understanding is preliminary, at best, and I would love to hear more from those who have studied these historic shifts.

 

These revolutions have deep roots in economic instability for the lower classes, often stemming from extreme inflation which results in broad suffering for anyone who is not wealthy. The movements began with intentions to boost the livelihoods of the lower classes, but the results have been consistently authoritarian, further driving oppression, division, and hate within the society.

 

The root of authoritarian pain and suffering is, itself, pain and suffering.

 

Put another way, hurt people hurt people. (Take a second to chew on that.)

 

Vulnerability

 

Fear drives us to take thoughtless action. It’s human instinct. You’ve probably heard the slogan, “Fight, flight, or freeze” as  innate responses to fear. I believe this succinctly and effectively sums up the myriad reactions to our current sociopolitical climate of injustice and inequality.

 

Fight: This one seems obvious. People are furious, myself included. This fury drives the impulse to stand up, be loud, and fight back. The message is clear: “Fuck this, the people deserve better.” I’ve seen so many inspiring leaders step up to channel this surge, and there are those who have been standing ground in these battles for years. It’s exhausting.

Flight: Avoidance is a form of flight. Many people (mostly those who are not being oppressed) want things to simply settle down and go back to “normal” because all of this is a lot to swallow. The desire for calm is not inherently bad, though it does not advance the mission, and everyone deserves to take time for self-soothing during the turbulence. It’s overwhelming.

Freeze: Emotional paralysis can sweep over us so intensely that we simply do… nothing. We feel the power of what’s happening while simultaneously experiencing a sense of hopelessness, ineffectiveness, and numbness. Having so many ways to contribute, but being overcome with decision paralysis – this is the freeze response. It’s disempowering.

 

How we respond during intense sociopolitical (and economic) unrest is largely innate. We are ceaselessly influenced by a squishy little chunk of neurons called the amygdala. It’s pretty wild to think about how this soft little almond-sized bundle is responsible for our gut instincts in the face of fear. It is part of our most basic and primal thought processing equipment, and it causes us to react to fear before fully digesting the cause or meaning.

 

When you catch a spot on the wall out of the corner of your eye and you jump (because what if it’s a spider!) – that’s your amygdala. This same process determines our reaction to sustained states of fear.

 

What is this period of extreme unrest, but a state of long-term heightened fear?

 

Many people in these battles have been facing constant fear their entire lives – fear for their very lives for simply being themselves, fear for the erasure of their culture and beliefs, fear for their livelihoods as they struggle paycheck to paycheck, fear for their civil rights, fear for their health because they can’t afford to see a doctor, fear for their access to shelter for the night… the list tragically goes on.

 

The fears that we are enveloped by right now can, and have, lead/led to instinctive demands for swift change. Many of these demands call for changes that are long overdue. Most demand that our system develop some semblance of actual justice for people who have suffered at the hands of the system (and those who uphold it) for far too long.

 

Some of these demands call for complete upheaval of the U.S. political structure, and this is where things have the potential to spiral quickly into further darkness.

 

Vigilance

 

I wouldn’t consider myself an anarchist, but I also cannot denounce the point of view. How tempting it is to fight for a truly level playing field, where everyone is free to live by their own ideals and share a community with anyone else whose beliefs are compatible. I love this concept, but mainly because in my personal version it means everyone is free to appreciate, love, and fuck anyone they want to, however they want to (with consent). But for other people, paradise is a platform of domination, subjugation, and oppression to fulfill their invented and distorted sense of superiority.

 

And that is the biggest risk.

 

Sociopolitical chaos and turmoil provide fertile ground for totalitarian mindsets. I certainly wouldn’t claim a cause-effect relationship. But, I cannot stand by the idea that it’s time to completely abandon democracy. (If anyone feels otherwise, I’d honestly love to hear your insight and discuss!)

 

While the U.S. political structure is undeniably fractured and in critical need of  repairs, I believe that history and human nature have repeatedly cautioned us against revolutionary risks. The danger isn’t in the systemic revision itself. The danger lurks in the degeneration of checks and balances – the water to our dehydrated politics.

 

What frightens me is seeing this foundational aspect of the U.S. political structure, the one true gem that has the power to keep the system balanced and far away from authoritarian rule, being eroded away bit by bit. The central purpose of the three-pronged system of checks and balances was to prevent any kind of centralized authoritarian rule – to ensure that the people are empowered with democratic power.

 

These days, the people have less and less influence on the democratic process, with flagrant flouting of voter suppression tactics being employed by career politicians. Gerrymandering, reducing the availability of voting locations, preventing access to vote-by-mail options, corporate lobbying, and even straightforward limitations on voting rights – these are all obvious attempts to diminish the power of the people, and it’s infuriating precisely because it’s so terrifying.

 

Voting right now feels like an empty game. The U.S. has been operating under the false assumption that we are a two-party government, when that is far from the truth. We have gotten lost in dichotomous thinking: “If you don’t 100% agree with me, then you’re 100% against me.”

 

This is simply not true.

 

Political discourse must allow for nuanced viewpoints. As much as human nature craves clear labels, we simply do not live in a black-and-white world. Opinions and viewpoints are gradients, and you’ll often find that even if you disagree with an individual on one thing, you wholeheartedly align on another. This nuance is critical to progressing our society and politics.

 

We could have many different parties that reflect the countless, complicated points of view, but instead we have two corrupt, oversimplified parties that have consistently failed to meet the real needs of the citizens. It’s a real fucking shame.

 

Votive

 

Yet, it’s the situation we’re in, and it’s not an excuse for inaction. While exasperation is entirely understandable, inaction is incomprehensible. To not vote in such a critical election is to abandon any conception of power balances within our political system. We have two central candidates, both crappy options, and yet one has repeatedly demonstrated a complete disregard for process and unabashed desire to consolidate power. He blatantly opposes the system of checks and balances, and has taken actions to defy it whenever the opportunity arises.

 

The threat to our democracy is real, and it scares the shit out of me.

 

To not vote in the upcoming election means that you do not care who wins, and that’s an opinion that is informed by your own fears, experiences, and desires. In my opinion, choosing not to vote in such a critical national election is a stance that supports the potential for amplifying hate that will divide, and ultimately kill, our fellow humans. It supports a shift closer toward authoritarian rule.

 

While I relate to the desire for a revolutionary gutting of our system, history has repeatedly cautioned us against such a drastic move. I’m not going to say that revolution would be right or wrong (we really can’t know except in hindsight), but I will urge you to participate in this election. Even if you’re ready to give up on the ability of the system to enact any real, immediate change, the vote this year may be a turning point in American politics, and to willfully excuse yourself from participating is to endorse the growth of hostility and violence.

 

Some people rise up and fight for quick change. We’ve seen incredible fruits come from this labor. We’ve seen more changes and justice in the past few months than we have in decades, and I intend to continue supporting these demonstrations and actions.

 

Some people participate directly in electoral politics. Seeing the influx of local political engagement, even within myself, has been powerfully influential. I did not fully comprehend the significance of local elections until this year, and am continually working on educating myself and increasing my involvement.

 

Some people are signal boosting. Maybe they’re just not quite ready to dive all the way in, and sharing information and having discussions is their way of participating while they adjust and learn.

 

Some people are still processing everything, and even this can be an act of support. Self-educating can empower people to find their own way to contribute.

 

Most people engage in combinations of the above, and still others have found alternative ways to participate. There is no one answer, change will require all approaches. No matter what approach you choose to take, I implore you to also take time to carefully vote in both national and local elections.

 

Voting is key to preventing the development of authoritarian politics. It is a core method of decentralizing power, and on a local level it can make a real, tangible difference for oppressed people in your community.

 

I understand it feels hopeless. I’m right there with you, teetering on the edge of giving up (because humans as a species should go extinct at this point anyway). But, not participating does nothing to change things for those who are suffering. Not participating is actively choosing to permit injustice and abuse. Not participating is not an option.

 

This quote from Angela Davis sums it up perfectly:

“I don’t see this election as being about choosing a candidate who will be able to lead us in the right direction. It will be about choosing a candidate who can be most effectively pressured into allowing more space for the evolving anti-racist movement… Biden is far more likely to take mass demands seriously.”

 

End this vie to veto the vote. What we need right now is action, in all its forms. Vote despite the frustration, and we might actually have a shot at forcing the changes we wish to see.