Election Thoughts
I have studied communication since I was a freshman at Palomar College in the fall of 2000. I competed in public speaking and in debate. One of the greatest gifts my professors and coaches at Palomar, California Baptist University, Ball State, and LSU ever gave me (as well as my colleagues at Mt. SAC and CSUN) was and is the ability to truly coexist. My studies over the years have enlightened me in terms of understanding that people have perspectives which are given, rejected, learned, reinforced, and challenged over their lifetimes. Each individual’s perception of reality isn’t just their perception, but the reality in which they reside. To be able to communicate effectively with others, we must understand and respect that others do not always share the lens through which we are viewing the world. We must exist in a space where we respect our fellow humans whether we respect each other’s beliefs or not.
As the aftermath of this election settles in, I reflect on what happened and what is happening. While many may view the media as neutral, it seems to have played a key role. Many in media present the left side of the political spectrum as objectively true, like Rachel Maddow. Others present the right side of the political spectrum as objectively true, like Rush Limbaugh. Neither extreme likely represents the majority of the electorate. The party lines are funny anyhow. Conservatives tend to argue to end abortion rights to protect children while resisting legally required vaccinations that protect children. Liberals tend to favor legalized marijuana while supporting vice taxes on cigarettes and sugar soda. Our nation, our world has what seems like an endless abyss of issues. No one ideological perspective will solve everything on its own.
No one (well, seemingly few people I know) took Donald Trump very seriously at first. He was an outsider, not even a Republican, and spouting hate. The primary on the Republican side was “clown car” of candidates, and Trump was the biggest question mark. The usual suspects fell off one by one, and when a candidate made any sense (like Rand Paul mentioning that there is clearly systematic racism in the ranks of the police force or JEB Bush suggesting perhaps we should make a path toward citizenship for law-abiding, undocumented people in our country) that person was also out. Bernie Sanders had a tidal wave of momentum behind him, and whether it was legitimate or not, the Democratic primary felt rigged against him. Sanders was like President Obama. Trump is, too—a decided change from the status quo. In the end, we had a choice between a candidate who represented the status quo and (to many) corruption: Hillary Clinton and a candidate who represented something different and (to many) hate: Donald Trump.
Trump’s victory surprised me a bit, but it makes sense. For years, the right has been told that they are antiquated, bigoted, and just plain wrong. This is evident in a plethora of media outlets and in many classrooms. At the same time, the left has believed that it won the culture war. Abortion, marriage equality, and sex-positive feminism are normalized. Arguments that question these are called out of touch. In a debate against Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton was asked what enemy she was most proud of, and she said Republicans. Trump said that he felt Sanders had been cheated and attempted to welcome Sanders’s supporters into his fold. Clinton called Trump’s supporters a “basket of deplorables” and Trump called Clinton a “nasty woman.” The media continuously harped on Clinton’s emails and practically dismissed the women who accused Trump of sexual assault. Facebook and other social media became a series of echo chambers. “If you support Trump, unfriend me.” “If you’re a #nastywoman, I want nothing to do with you.”
About the same number of Republicans voted for Trump as Romney (who was a reasonable candidate, especially by comparison). Millions of Democrats stayed home. When the right gets mad, they vote for revenge. When the left gets mad, they get disillusioned and stay home. Many of us (meaning Americans generally) are frustrated by a two-party system which is accurately representing fewer and fewer of us.
Now, teachers are walking out with their students. People are burning flags. In front of a Trump tower, someone held a sign that said, “Rape Melania.” On the other side, men have been emboldened to cat-call and grab women. African Americans have been beaten. Women clad in hijab are being threatened. The scariest part of this election is not a President Trump, it is the fact that we have become intolerant of any perspective but our own, and unwilling to seek to understand before we scream to be understood.
