November 3, 2004
America to World: "Don't Make Me Think!"
If you've read my blog even a couple of times you know I felt pretty strongly about the importance of getting Bush out of the White House. And now that we've lost our chance to do that, I'm struggling to find some understanding about what happened so that I, and others who feel as I do, can move on (no pun intended) productively and positively. Being angry about the outcome isn't useful to anybody.
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What I'm beginning to understand is that most people don't vote with their head, they vote with their heart or gut. Candidates have to get under their skin. Explaining complexities is futile. The vote yesterday says to me "Don't Make Me Think!" |
I'm not saying that people are stupid because of how they voted, I'm saying they making decisions about who will be president based on a feeling, not out of some analytical process. |
Think back to your history books...the whole reason we have a representative democracy is because the early founders recognized that The People shouldn't really be expected to make their own decisions about everything. (Madison, 1787). This governance thing is way too complicated for your average Joe.
As a Californian who spends hours each election trying to sort through the initiatives, I heartily agree with this process. I'm educated. I'm committed. Yet I'm sure I've voted "wrong" several times. I don't really want the pressure of voting on all those initiatives. It stresses me out.
Take that same feeling and apply it to your average, high school educated Joe. Joe doesn't want to think so hard either. And he won't. Joe hasn't made a commitment to lifelong learning. He's just out there making a living. His reward is to watch TV with his family in the evening after a long hard day at work (if he's lucky).
Joe isn't going to learn the ins and outs of budget deficits and when they're good and when they're bad. He has no reason to care about welfare reform. And, why shouldn't he believe the President when the President says we need to invade Iraq to stop terrorism? Doesn't the President have a better handle on these things than he possiblity could...and who are these people who think They know better than the President???
Joe goes with his gut. He sees a President that relies on prayer for guidance, is resolute and decisive. A strong leader who doesn't let himself get pushed around. These are qualities that make Joe confident that this guy can be trusted.
The issues don't matter. The issues are -- essentially -- too much information. Joe isn't a stupid man. He's a man who trusts his leaders to lead. He votes with his gut based on his life experience and his belief system. He's not studying the candidate's positions. He's not fact-checking in the alternative press. He believes in God, believes in working hard and taking care of your own. The rest is white noise.
So next election, how about we try to make it simple. Find a guy to run (and I do mean a guy) who is charismatic, who resonates with Joe and his friends in Nevada, Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada, and maybe even Kansas -- and is acceptable to rest of us. That might mean finding a candidate who over-simplifies, who glosses over details, who takes positions liberals aren't necessarily happy with -- maybe even a candidate who mispeaks occasionally. But who cares, the important thing is he's got to *feel* right. |  |
Posted by Lori at 4:01 PM | Permalink