Whatever our age or generation, the November 2020 U.S. elections will be the most consequential political choice moment of our lifetime.
Face it. Ponder on it. Imagine it. Face the fear. Embrace the hope. Above all, commit to making a difference in the outcome of those elections.Don’t sit this one out. “Individuals who agonize don’t act. Individuals who act don’t agonize” (Pierre Sauvage, Weapons of the Spirit). “Decisions are made by those that show up” (Aaron Sorkin, The West Wing).
If this sounds like a partisan pep talk to my partisan mates and citizens on the ‘blue’ side of our political divide, it’s because it is. It’s not an attempt to succeed in out to undecided fence-sitters, or to woo over Trump stalwarts from their bewitchment with a pathetic, fearful and backward-looking ideological vision and an unstable, incompetent and deeply cynical leader. It’s a pep talk, above all, to myself.
The timing for this pep talk is not just the turn of the New Year, but because the voting season is not off in the future. It’s upon us proper now!
So the primary question for every of us is: am I going to show up and make a difference?
And the second query is: what, specifically, am I going to do in order to make a difference?
What’s At Stake In This Election
It’s straightforward to be overwhelmed by all the element and argumentation about points, policy concepts, political calculus, campaign strategies, fundraising targets, who-is-most-electable, voter block analysis, heartland versus the coasts, down-ballot contests, latest poll numbers. To be a very knowledgeable Democratic voter in this election year could be a full-time job and more!
I consider all of us share the basics of this widespread vision — regardless of where we stand on the fine ‘shades of blue’ continuum that we are so fond of focusing on during this season of Democratic Party primaries.
It’s a noble vision, a vision worthy of commitment, a vision to live and work for, a vision that can ignite enthusiasm and hope. A vision which we should always embrace and trumpet in this election 12 months, a vision with which to achieve the ‘better angels’ of our fellow-citizens. It’s one among our greatest strengths, and our best hope to win the elections and reverse the degrading and tragic course we’ve been on as a nation since 2016.
This vision will not be about all the myriad bread-and-butter issues that have to be addressed, or about appealing strategically to every voter phase’s perceived self-interest and every area’s electoral clout. It’s not a shopping list or tactical talking points. It’s a dream, a dream about what we are able to be.
The vision that animates us is the polar opposite of the backward-looking “Make America Nice Again” vision, with its false promise of taking the nation back to an imaginary simplistic golden age in the past.
It’s a “Rework America for the Future” vision — a dynamic, open-ended, possibility-oriented vision, a dream of innovation, improvement, re-invention and greatness in adapting to the complicatedity of this tumultuous 21st century in which we live.
This vision encompasses some basic parts:
A sane and just financial system
Instead of the intense form of predatory capitalism and crony oligarchy under which we presently operate, moving towards a more balanced economic system, higher for everyone in both the quick and the long run — an economic system that concurrently promotes the dynamism of free enterprise, wise regulation, and a strong safety net for all.
Good, sturdy and skilled authorities
A convincing rejection of the ‘authorities itself is the problem’ lie that has been promoted by conservatives because the days of Ronald Reagan, the ‘authorities for private gain’ spectacle of the current administration, its injurious weakening of the institutions of government, and its devaluing of the numerous kinds of expertise it takes to run something as complex because the national government of a strong and complex country, in favor of a renaissance of the concept that government generally is a drive for good, that government requires special kinds of skin poor health and expertise, and that institutions mustn’t lightly be tampered with or destroyed.
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