Dear god, I already feel everyone in my circle fleeing in horror. When I sign back onto Facebook, I will discover I've been unfriended en mass. If I hadn't already stepped away from my Unitarian Universalist church, I'd be shunned on Sunday morning. (Not really -- they are a very welcoming group, but they'd be shocked nonetheless.) My bonafides -- Progressive, Liberal, Feminist, Peace-Loving, Diversity-Embracing banner-carrier -- are now called into question and found wanting at best, lies at worst. I fear being drummed out of the Resistance.
But you see, this admission also allows me to take a long, hard look at my own judgementalism. (Is that a word? Well, it seems another "ism" to fight against.)
I have railed against, denigrated, and blamed every single person who voted for the current president for their ability to accept, or overlook, certain aspects of his demonstrably piss-poor character and outrageous racism and misogyny. I still hold some blame toward those who were "I hate Hillary enough to vote for an unfit, unhinged, inexperienced reality show host to lead our country". And toward those who STILL support him, after the year of living dangerously we've just endured, I am speechless and we can probably find zero common ground, ever, on this topic.
But to those who were willfully, lazily, ignorant; I guess I offer grudging understanding. Been there, done that.
I first knew of Richard Nixon during the 1960 election year, when I was just shy of 10 years old. I'd spent the campaign cycle amongst my fellow 4th graders, whose parents were predominantly former "I Like Ike" Republicans and just transferred their allegiance to Nixon. I recall only one little girl in my class who was "for Kennedy". She was seen as weird and sort of exotic, even after JFK visited our blue collar factory town whose visit, in my family, was characterized as merely an annoying traffic tie-up downtown. We little girls even gave our Girl Scout leader the endearing nickname, "Nikki" -- short for Nixon!
My parents never discussed politics; I didn't have a clue where they stood on the issues. I just knew we were Republicans -- like every single other person I knew except that one little girl. Nixon lost in 1960 (robbed by that scoundrel Daley, mayor of the big, bad city an hour east of us). But he went on to win in '68 and it just seemed natural. I grew up with the idea that Richard Nixon was Presidential.
In the 60's I had awakened to the horror of the Vietnam War, which seems awful, but I didn't really question it or take the initiative to understand it. I was drawn to the appeal of the "hippie culture" and flirted with that by listening to "psychedelic" pop music, wearing bell-bottoms, hanging out with long-haired guys, and smoking a bit of weed. I'd come to find the Kennedy clan exciting and good-looking and I watched Bobby Kennedy with some modicum of budding interest in politics. I cried when he was killed and the world seemed to be moving out of it's familiar orbit. But mostly my life was still comfortably conservative, small town, and unworldly. I did not "fight the man".
So when Nixon ran in 1972, I was a month shy of turning 22 and four months into being a newlywed. I had mostly left my counter-culture flirtation behind and turned my concerns to "keeping house" like a grownup and perfecting a chicken fried steak recipe prepared in my new avocado green electric frying pan in the yellow-walled kitchen of our second story walk-up apartment. I was also on a bowling league.
Still, I was excited to vote for the first time (voting age was still 21 then). The polling place for our precinct was, oddly, in the basement of a private home as I recall -- that does seem weird, but it's how I remember it now. I stepped up to the voting booth, closed the privacy curtain, and voted for Richard Nixon, because he was already president, so he must be a good one and he'd been around most of my life, so yeah....that was that. I never gave it another thought.
Until late 1973. We'd moved by then into Chicago for Hub's med school adventure. I was working as a secretarial clerk at the medical center, a virtual United Nations of docs from all over the world. I also started college for the first time at age 23. The world around me suddenly went from black and white to color. YOWZA! There was so much to learn! By the time Nixon resigned in 1974, I had a year of college under my belt, was a newly-minted Democrat, liberal, feminist and cheered his departure with my supervisor, sitting in front of a small TV she'd brought into the office for the occasion. She was my first political teacher and I was the model student at her knee.
Was I willfully ignorant in 1972 or just disinterested? That's where it gets tricky in my judgementalism. I think disinterested ignorance, especially in this day and age of internet access to a wide variety of thought, opinion, and information is willful. These days ya gotta actively avoid being educated about the political landscape and that is a choice.
But didn't I make the same choice in 1972? I was so immersed in my own life of work, friends, and newlywed-ness; so surrounded by a conservative, Republican community; so sheltered from diversity; so immune to critical thinking, that I just went along. I may have glanced at the one local newspaper and may have switched on Walter Cronkite in the evening, but none of it seemed relevant to me. I was working my way through my new Betty Crocker cookbook and trying to improve my bowling average.
So, I get it. I get that some people are still just like I was at a certain point in their lives and since I forgive myself, I have to forgive them too. Immaturity, self-absorption, and/or lack of experience in the wider world all contribute to choices that later on seem impossible, even grossly embarrassing.
My optimism comes in the form of hope that just as I found an awakening through education, experience, exposure to diversity, and even maturity, others will too. They will discover that an informed and active populace, with critical thinking skills, is essential to a functioning democracy.
I'm not saying everyone will follow my lead and vote Democratic. But my FIERCE OPTIMISM is that the disinterested will awaken and that never again will the voters elect a wholly unqualified, dangerous, authoritarian-wanna-be to the White House, nor tolerate those who prop him up for their own (and their corporate donors) self-interest. Be a Republican if you must, but be a good one.
At least, that's the view from here...©
You were young when you voted for Nixon and did so not really knowing what kind of a person he really was behind the mask. People who voted for Trump can't say that. Trump snows his true colors every day and always has. I'm glad you can forgive the Trump voters but I'm not there yet, still don't understand how they can support a man most of us wouldn't want our children to emulate.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember ever voting for a Republican but the only one I was tempted to vote for was Gerald Ford. My husband used to say he was the last good Republican president. We knew him well, being from the town. Growing up my father talked politics with me and, of course, my husband and I did.
I need to be clear -- I was referring to those who either did not vote at all or voted for him within the cloud of limited information, which is inexcusable, but I actually know people who "turn off any mention of politics". Did they, like that young me, just make an impulsive, uninformed vote? Maybe. Although it seems rather impossible not to have seen what he was. I lose perspective on that though since I am so passionate about national politics and follow every utterance, so I leave room for the possibility that others may just go about their lives with blinders on in that regard.
DeleteI DO NOT understand anyone who still supports him.
I just saw the movie "Post" which was excellent. I realized how little I knew of that era and I was child of the sixties! Of course I knew the Vietnam war was bad and boys were dying senselessly, but I knew nothing of the Pentagon papers. And both democrats and republicans knew we were losing the war. I hadn't voted yet, as admittedly, I was not interested yet in politics.
ReplyDeleteI think apathy is a big reason for not voting and ignorance is a big reason for voting for Trump and his ilk...or sadly, there are some like him, more than I ever realized.
I have tried to understand why ANYONE would support this embarrassing inarticulate heartless idiot and I see the same thing over and over....
Religious( more to the evangelical and fundamentalist type), white, very racist, older (there are many in my age group 70s) and not educated and I don't mean necessarily a college grad. People that don't read, only watch Fox or listen to Rush and don't have the ability or inclination to do any critical thinking.
Thanks for commenting, Mary! I have to agree with you, that many voted for him who fit the description you provide. It makes me sad our country is so divided along these idealogical lines and I think the bottom line is, as you point out -- no interest in or ability to think critically.
DeleteMy post was meant to offer an olive branch to those who just don't follow politics and may have decided not to vote at all or voted for him in ignorance of all that he is and stands for. (Which, as I said, seems a bit hard to believe, but I was that person with my Nixon vote).
That being said, I truly will NEVER understand how millions of Americans, for whatever reason, decided he's the one they wanted in the White House, destroying all the values and norms of the Presidency and dismantling the levers of government that have kept this democracy alive for nearly 250 years.
But I have to believe this situation will right itself. Good people, doing good things, will prevail. But it will take all of us raising our voices and heading to the voting booth as INFORMED voters.
In reading your words and responses from Jean and Mary, I do not ceel alone. I am no where close to being an apathetic voter, but will say that my actions are internal... a lot of reading and learning and pondering. I praise your work for women and all issues that are dear to you and everyone in our circles to the point of envy, because I want to do more... but don't.
ReplyDeleteAt times I fear I will be sucked into doom and not he able to recover. Other times, I know I do not have the mental and physical energy to outwardly act. It is where I am at this point in my life.
Deepest appreciation for you.
I can't say I ever had any heartburning over a vote in my younger days. I didn't think it odd that my grandfather had 2! portraits of FDR in his home -- a large on in the living room and a smaller one in his bedroom. I think I may have voted Republican once or twice at the local level but I must have had no choice. My husband turned Republican during his corporate years but was just starting to recover before he died. I had to fill out his last ballot for him where he voted against GWB but I dutifully cancelled my vote for Gregoire by checking his for Rossi.
ReplyDelete