For almost two and a half centuries now, we have struggled back and forth while trying to do what we think is best for our country and those who live here.
The backing and forthing has always gone on, leading to our two-party system and strong opinions about the best course to take. It’s kind of funny how the whole country can think we’re heading in the wrong direction, but each half thinks it’s the fault of the other half.
Our democracy is based on our Constitution, which is imitated and admired the world over for its simple concept that each of our citizens should have an equal voice and that the majority of those voices should rule…until the next election cycle. Until relatively recently, we basically accepted this notion, even when we didn’t like the outcome, because we believe in the power of We, the People.
Say what you will about Democrats, but they don’t try to overturn elections once the ballots are counted. I still remember the grumbling and outrage of the Presidential election in 2000, when the Supreme Court decided that George Bush had defeated Al Gore using some literally flimsy evidence (remember the hanging chads?). I think there were challenges, but the country settled back down until 9/11 happened in 2001, and we all pulled together to face the crisis at the time.
Political life has really changed since then, in lots of ways and for lots of reasons, but the reason I’m talking about here is the arrival, and surprising election, of a completely unconventional candidate with no legislative or governing experience, who took the “outsider challenging the status quo” persona to a whole new level. To date, this has included things like multiple felony convictions, documented business fraud, and confirmed, blatant lying that reached epic proportions during his four years in office. Political life has never been the same.
Donald Trump lacks both the temperament and the skill set to function effectively as our President, but his anti- establishment attitude, and bold refusal to be fazed by facts that disprove his statements, seem to have resonated with a significant percentage of the population. It’s as if he is flipping the bird to some unseen group of arrogant people who made all the rules and judge everyone accordingly. His opponent in 2016, Hillary Clinton, seemed to fit this group like a glove, especially when she slipped into the trap of calling Trump’s supporters “deplorables.”
Eight years later, Trump’s campaign promises have taken on an ominous tone. His opponent is much more relatable and human than Hillary, and some of the fruits of his first term, such as overturning Roe v Wade, mishandling the Covid pandemic, and giving large tax benefits to wealthy folks, are not sitting very well with the rest of us unwealthy folks. Trump has had to create an emotional reason for voters to turn to him; sadly, he chose fear.
Trump’s picture of the state of our nation is so dark that, even though it isn’t true, to listen to him is to have our deepest insecurities as humans triggered and amplified. Struggling to make ends meet? Fear the immigrants who are coming to take away your job. Feeling anxious when you watch almost continuous violence (mostly gun-related) on the news? The bloodthirsty immigrants are causing that as well. Worried about the volatile nature of the world and its recent eruptions into horrific and unimaginable wars? Turn to Trump who tells you he will put an end to all of that because he is such an effective and powerful leader.
The dilemma for Republicans who have not joined the cult is that these statements by Trump are obviously not true, and they can be checked and debunked without very much research. The Republicans I know are not reassured when Trump takes the position that what he says is true “because I say so.” What will you do when it comes time to cast your ballot?
You worry that voting for Kamala Harris would require you to agree with her policies, which you don’t. You’re a conservative and a lifelong Republican; what are you, a traitor? You imagine all kind of wild spending and crazy laws coming out of a Harris administration. Your concerns are important and understandable.
Here’s my answer: The risk involved in a Kamala Harris Presidency is overstated. It is unlikely that Democrats will win both houses of the legislature, and it’s entirely possible that they will win neither. That means there will be no huge wave of progressive legislation coming out of Washington, D.C. Sadly, that may also mean little of anything gets done, but at least you can console yourself that you are just keeping a very unstable and impulsive man out of a position of inappropriate power, until 2028 when normal Republicans will have returned to center stage.
Electing Harris will mean that our system of government continues as it has for more than two centuries, with the Constitution at its base and our imperfect human vision keeping us from straying too far off course. We just need to make it across this chasm that Trump has led us to and reaffirm our faith that the way we’ve been doing it up until now has worked just fine.
You know it is the right thing to do, and reasonable people everywhere are counting on you.
Susan Hull is a retired clinical psychologist, a horse trainer and an Independent voter. She is proud of President Biden for putting his country ahead of his own interests and wishes the Republicans had nominated someone of similar caliber, so this could be a simpler decision.
