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A long thread:
What do I hate about Election Day?
What do I hate about Election Day?
Me. Who fills your social media feed with every unimportant piece of political news until you imagine me bearded and hunkered down in a cabin in the woods preparing for a fascist takeover of America.
Me. Who peppered his high school teachers with questions and discussion about the Clinton impeachment trial so much that no one in class remembers Latin conjugations to this day. (Who were they kidding? It was 7:30 AM)
There is so much I find wrong with Election Day - disenfranchisement, long lines, confusion, and anger.
Above all it seems the political chattering class - pundits, pollsters, and even some politicians - only view Americans through the prism of preordained affinity groups.
Above all it seems the political chattering class - pundits, pollsters, and even some politicians - only view Americans through the prism of preordained affinity groups.
They view us to be only as valuable as we are to the people who hired them. They make predictions based on our income level, magazine subscriptions, habits, demographics, and religion.
They define us so precisely that they pretend to think and know us before the votes have been counted.
So beware of the politician who says he or she knows what you think before you speak.
They've discarded your opinion before you've had the chance to express it.
So beware of the politician who says he or she knows what you think before you speak.
They've discarded your opinion before you've had the chance to express it.
We contain multitudes and we are multitudes. The sovereignty of the American voter is also the unpredictability of Election night. Who knows who will win?
I only know as much as you do and only as much has been reported about the African American turnout in Philadelphia or the suburbs of Dubuque.
I think about the words of Wendell Berry. From Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.
I think about the words of Wendell Berry. From Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.
"As soon as the generals and politicos can predict the motion of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection."
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection."
When you vote, however you vote, it's your sovereign vote. I hope you're clever like the fox. I hope you don't vote the way you're expected or told. I hope you don't believe or trust the most self-assured politicos. Because they are cynical.
But those of us who believe in democracy, believe it can all be restored with extra effort, hope, and patience to endure those damn lines at the polls.