The Buzz: I Implore You to Vote!

This country is out of control. Civility, compassion, integrity, honesty and empathy—all virtues that I thought most would say are universal values—seem to have been replaced with the acceptance of hate, lies, and violence against innocent people. 

We have reached a very dangerous tipping point. Many pundits agree that our democracy is in jeopardy and extremism is becoming the norm. Every day since Donald Trump became a candidate and then was elected president we have been living in an unbelievable and untenable environment of escalating political violence, racism, sexism, antisemitism and xenophobia.  

The most recent example is the violent, unprovoked, hate-motivated attack on Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of speaker Nancy Pelosi. After the January 6 insurrection, I thought: This is the very worst that could have happened, and certainly reasonable people will take measures to mitigate extremism and hateful rhetoric. However, that has not happened. As we are all witnessing, the lies, hate and violence are just getting worse. Some historians are starting to liken this environment to fascism, a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader.  

I am not going to list all of the recent incidences that would lead one to believe that we are trending toward fascism because I am sure as a reader of The Inclusion Solution, you are well aware and do not need to continue to be reminded. It is not helpful for our well-being.   

This post is to emphasize how critical it is that we all exercise our right to vote. Shockingly (or maybe not), the polls are showing that the races between extremist republicans and their norm-abiding democratic opponents are very close.  For example, Kari Lake, who is running for governor of Arizona, is three points ahead of the Democratic candidate. Kari Lake believes that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and made fun of Paul Pelosi’s attack. Consider Herschel Walker’s bid for the senate against Rev. Raphael Warnock. Polls show that they are statistically deadlocked. I won’t elaborate on why Walker is not fit to serve. You get it. We all know that polls can get it wrong. The 2016 presidential election is a case in point. Let’s hope they are wrong in these and other cases where candidates are perpetuating lies, spewing hate and advocating for policies that are anti-democratic.  

Midterm elections usually get lower voter turnout than presidential elections. If people continue to hear over and over again that Republicans (including the extremists) are likely to prevail, it could lead those who might ordinarily vote to think, “What’s the use? My vote won’t make a difference.” Some may not like any of the choices. However, Rebecca Solnit, historian, author and activist, said, “Think of your vote as a chess move that gets you closer to the world you want to see.” Furthermore, by becoming politically engaged throughout the year, we can engage with many different pieces and players in our political system to develop long-term strategies that move us closer to that world we want to see.  

I still believe that there are more reasonable people who uphold the values of freedom, civility, peace and regard for fellow humans, than there are those who support hate, violence and fascism. I am going to take advantage of early voting this Saturday. I know that you will vote, and I am asking that you do your part to make sure others do too. Volunteer to get someone to the polls. Text or call people in your circle to encourage them to vote. Make sure people in your circle know where to vote. Get engaged!