November 4, 2008.
Election day. A crossroads in American history. Today is the day in which, if all goes according to proper voting procedures (minus serious voter suppression/fraud) Barack Obama will become the President of the United States. Although it is to be taken with a large grain of salt, this could be the event that restores pride of country within the youth of this nation. As someone who was 17 years old at the beginning of the Iraq war, the majority of my life in terms of political development has been spent under an extremely sorry-ass Bush administration with all its cronyism and corrupt political ends. Consequently, many people of my generation who actually pay attention to the state of affairs generally exhibit one of two characteristics; strong apathy or a deep mistrust of the democratic system’s effectiveness of translating the desires of the people into policy that is sensible and productive. Admittedly, there is more than just the two possibilities I have offered up, yet the point remains the same- the last eight years has turned a young generation of citizens into a careless and disconnected voting bloc.
Can an Obama presidency reverse this process? Although only time will tell, there are certainly some unique things occurring in the contemporary political atmosphere that point to an affirmative answer. For instance, the infusion of new voters, generally young and/or previously disenfranchised groups, speaks volume to the electric political environment we see today. As is commonplace in understanding of American politics, the Republican Party’s base will almost always come out and make their voices heard given their proclivity to civic engagement already ingrained in their own lives. Church serves as a useful example of this point, for it represents a crucial civil society that has always been exceptional in getting its members into the participation process. The business community, a group of people who traditionally posses levels of education that would dictate political participation, represents another powerful example of the conservative Republican base that will always come out for their candidate regardless of most foreseeable circumstances. On the other hand, the Democrats have much less of a dependable base. Due to the fact that their policies generally benefit more of the lower half (possibly the lower 3/4 given our sharply rising gap in inequality), the Democrats must frame their campaigns in terms of how they are going to help this large, traditionally disadvantaged group of people. Given these people’s limited levels of education and social awareness as well as a severe lack of civil society, apathy to politics is rampant and getting them to the voting booth has always been a challenge for any party attempting to gain prominence on the basis of their support.
Given the aforementioned reality, as well as the socioeconomic makeup of the political scene and the fact that there are a much greater amount of disadvantaged voters relative to those who wish to preserve this inequitable status quo, one would suspect that if 100% of the electorate came out to vote that it would always be a landslide in favor of the policies of the candidate who supports the lower SES [SocioEconomic Status] classes of people. (It must be noted here that this is a sweeping simplification of the political divisions within this country; many socially minded Christians and powerful business people flock to the Democrats for intellectual/ideological reasons including equality and justice and fairness and liberty. Likewise, many poor classes of people wish to preserve the status quo due to their lack of knowledge of the potential benefits of change, juxtaposed with bigoted attitudes towards Gays, Women, Minorities, and generally Folks-Trying-To-Have-A-Good-Time.) It is for this reason that the conservative Republicans represent the party that stands to benefit from a lower turnout. To be very clear, this point is not overlooked within the ranks of the GOP. It is for these reasons that they as a party have a large stake in suppressing the vote. They can afford to exhibit a level of confidence that their usual constituency will come out as they always do, therefore significant energy and money is devoted to the goal of reducing the number of people who come out to have their voices heard.
Hence, one of the unique aspects of this election cycle is the uncanny ability of Obama to attract a large group of people who would previously have never participated via an extremely important quality he possesses and for which the conservatives constantly criticize him- his ability to inspire. Conservatives write him off as a celebrity who may be a good speaker but obviously does not have the governing experience to make policy work in Washington. Unfortunately for proponents of this view, effective politicians may be looked at as such based on their ability to gain widespread support and therefore mobilization of the populace in support of their policies. How short their memories are, for their own movement had Ronald Reagan, notorious for his ability to convey messages simply and effectively which in turn created a compliant political atmosphere in which shit actually gets done. Was Reagan not a celebrity? Did he not electrify crowds with his inspirational speeches? All of these things he did extremely effectively and for his efforts he is looked at as a modern day hero to the conservative movement. Yet this time around, conservatives cringe at the notion of a very popular and inspirational candidate, particularly because their movement severely lacks the characters that are able to inspire large groups of people. Rush Limbaugh serves as a great example of prominent conservative thinker, and he is as divisive and uninspired as any person could be.
Obama will attract many new voters into the system, which will ultimately result in a shift in the political atmosphere within this superpower nation. These new voters will give our flailing democracy an increased level of legitimacy and hopefully restore the image worldwide of a respectable USA. In addition, his ability to inspire will allow many of his policies to go through smoothly and therefore actually be effectively implemented. Obama is our medicine for our ailing political atmosphere? Thank you God.
Election day. A crossroads in American history. Today is the day in which, if all goes according to proper voting procedures (minus serious voter suppression/fraud) Barack Obama will become the President of the United States. Although it is to be taken with a large grain of salt, this could be the event that restores pride of country within the youth of this nation. As someone who was 17 years old at the beginning of the Iraq war, the majority of my life in terms of political development has been spent under an extremely sorry-ass Bush administration with all its cronyism and corrupt political ends. Consequently, many people of my generation who actually pay attention to the state of affairs generally exhibit one of two characteristics; strong apathy or a deep mistrust of the democratic system’s effectiveness of translating the desires of the people into policy that is sensible and productive. Admittedly, there is more than just the two possibilities I have offered up, yet the point remains the same- the last eight years has turned a young generation of citizens into a careless and disconnected voting bloc.
Can an Obama presidency reverse this process? Although only time will tell, there are certainly some unique things occurring in the contemporary political atmosphere that point to an affirmative answer. For instance, the infusion of new voters, generally young and/or previously disenfranchised groups, speaks volume to the electric political environment we see today. As is commonplace in understanding of American politics, the Republican Party’s base will almost always come out and make their voices heard given their proclivity to civic engagement already ingrained in their own lives. Church serves as a useful example of this point, for it represents a crucial civil society that has always been exceptional in getting its members into the participation process. The business community, a group of people who traditionally posses levels of education that would dictate political participation, represents another powerful example of the conservative Republican base that will always come out for their candidate regardless of most foreseeable circumstances. On the other hand, the Democrats have much less of a dependable base. Due to the fact that their policies generally benefit more of the lower half (possibly the lower 3/4 given our sharply rising gap in inequality), the Democrats must frame their campaigns in terms of how they are going to help this large, traditionally disadvantaged group of people. Given these people’s limited levels of education and social awareness as well as a severe lack of civil society, apathy to politics is rampant and getting them to the voting booth has always been a challenge for any party attempting to gain prominence on the basis of their support.
Given the aforementioned reality, as well as the socioeconomic makeup of the political scene and the fact that there are a much greater amount of disadvantaged voters relative to those who wish to preserve this inequitable status quo, one would suspect that if 100% of the electorate came out to vote that it would always be a landslide in favor of the policies of the candidate who supports the lower SES [SocioEconomic Status] classes of people. (It must be noted here that this is a sweeping simplification of the political divisions within this country; many socially minded Christians and powerful business people flock to the Democrats for intellectual/ideological reasons including equality and justice and fairness and liberty. Likewise, many poor classes of people wish to preserve the status quo due to their lack of knowledge of the potential benefits of change, juxtaposed with bigoted attitudes towards Gays, Women, Minorities, and generally Folks-Trying-To-Have-A-Good-Time.) It is for this reason that the conservative Republicans represent the party that stands to benefit from a lower turnout. To be very clear, this point is not overlooked within the ranks of the GOP. It is for these reasons that they as a party have a large stake in suppressing the vote. They can afford to exhibit a level of confidence that their usual constituency will come out as they always do, therefore significant energy and money is devoted to the goal of reducing the number of people who come out to have their voices heard.
Hence, one of the unique aspects of this election cycle is the uncanny ability of Obama to attract a large group of people who would previously have never participated via an extremely important quality he possesses and for which the conservatives constantly criticize him- his ability to inspire. Conservatives write him off as a celebrity who may be a good speaker but obviously does not have the governing experience to make policy work in Washington. Unfortunately for proponents of this view, effective politicians may be looked at as such based on their ability to gain widespread support and therefore mobilization of the populace in support of their policies. How short their memories are, for their own movement had Ronald Reagan, notorious for his ability to convey messages simply and effectively which in turn created a compliant political atmosphere in which shit actually gets done. Was Reagan not a celebrity? Did he not electrify crowds with his inspirational speeches? All of these things he did extremely effectively and for his efforts he is looked at as a modern day hero to the conservative movement. Yet this time around, conservatives cringe at the notion of a very popular and inspirational candidate, particularly because their movement severely lacks the characters that are able to inspire large groups of people. Rush Limbaugh serves as a great example of prominent conservative thinker, and he is as divisive and uninspired as any person could be.
Obama will attract many new voters into the system, which will ultimately result in a shift in the political atmosphere within this superpower nation. These new voters will give our flailing democracy an increased level of legitimacy and hopefully restore the image worldwide of a respectable USA. In addition, his ability to inspire will allow many of his policies to go through smoothly and therefore actually be effectively implemented. Obama is our medicine for our ailing political atmosphere? Thank you God.
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