The Most Important Election Ever!

Here we are voting again for our Republic to be as we envision it.

I read this yesterday. “Now you may ask, ‘But I’m just one person — what about Twitter? What about Facebook? And what about politicians with huge followings who spread falsehoods and misleading claims all the time?’ It’s true that our society and many others around the world are facing what some researchers call “truth decay.” Bad actors can and do game social and traditional media in order to flood the zone with conspiracy theories that sometimes promote violent and extremist agendas.” [1] You are probably thinking that I am applying this to a particular political party, but you are wrong. I believe all political parties and their candidates purposely misrepresent issues in their speeches, and in their arguments against another’s speech, to make us believe in them so they can win. Winning is paramount for a politician. Truth is often the intended causality because of our trust in our biases and those who represent them.

I have posted this reference before and reiterate it here because it actually altered a few of my long held biases: Lochlan Morrissey, Research Associate, Griffith University, wrote on October 4, 2017, “In politics, alternative facts exist. And they always have. . . Facts do exist! I am not enough of a postmodernist, nor enough of a nihilist, to claim the opposite. There are certainly things that are true – that the world is not flat, for instance – whose truth is supported by various kinds of evidence. These might be called ‘scientific propositions’, because their truth is verified through certain, standardised methods of collecting and interpreting data, and through the reproduction of experimental tests. . . ‘Political propositions’, which are directly relevant to the governance of people, are designed to appeal to emotions and beliefs, and so cannot be held to the same scrutiny as scientific propositions. Beliefs operate in a similar way to facts, insofar as a belief generally requires some evidence at an individual level. And a belief, like a fact, must still be justified by this evidence. However, where feelings and intuition count as evidence for a belief, these are purposefully scoured from scientific discourse. Contrary to the way hypotheses are tested and reproduced, beliefs are formed with very little recourse. . . While the vehemently ‘rational’ may decry beliefs for this reason, they undeniably exist and affect the way people make decisions. Belief can override evidence obtained by other means precisely because it is more personal and, in a sense, more humanistic than the impartial scientific method.”[2]

Our political preferences, our political beliefs, are most regularly about bias, feelings and intuition. Our political options are spun, toward emotion and intuition over facts, by those wanting our vote.

Brett Neely writes, “If a news story gives you an emotional response, pause. It’s OK to react emotionally to the news! There are a lot of things happening in the world that many people find upsetting.

“But in our highly polarized society, many actors try to capitalize on tribal political identities. They share falsehoods and misrepresentations that will incite an emotional response and short-circuit the instinct to consider whether something can be true, or even plausible. Don’t fall prey to their tactics.” [1] Please notice that neither of the writers I have used try to direct the reader to any particular source of the verbal deception we encounter at election time.

Today we go through what has been touted as the most important election ever and told “Democracy is on the ballot.” Thomas Knapp wrote yesterday, “The same people who’ve spent the last two years telling us that this is THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION EVER said the same thing about the previous election and will say the same thing about the next election.”[3] If you are scared by the opposing party and their way of governing, your party may have painted them as the boogie man come to make your worst nightmares come true. And they might, but they also may not.

Knapp continues: “Are you convinced that, after all the months of constant foofooraw leading up to ‘Election Day,’ anything substantial will really change between Monday and Wednesday?

It won’t. We’ve still got the same problems we had before, and we’ve still got the same people (minus a few old faces and plus a few new) who will spend the next two years promising to solve those problems if we’ll all just VOTE HARDER (Knapp’s humor) … next time.” [3]

Returning to the expression used by Brett Neely of NPR, “truth decay” [1], the real issue before us is not on any ballot in the nations, “How we are to discern the truth when there seems to be so many versions?” Science doesn’t always help us. Rationale isn’t always the answer. Neely suggests,

“Consider the source: This is probably the most important one. How does the person posting about this story know what is happening?” “

Be wary of what photos and videos purport to show:
You could see photos and videos alleging nefarious behavior or a gross injustice. Look for a difference between what the post says you’re seeing and what the video or photo actually shows.”

“Election workers are your neighbors:
The people at your polling place and the people handling and counting ballots live in your city or county. Many are volunteers or paid relatively little. Many work in offices that are understaffed. Many do the job because they believe it’s important and work hard to be scrupulously nonpartisan.” ie. Trust those who are working the election on your behalf. Their political leanings have been vetted for bias.

“If a news story gives you an emotional response, pause.”

Lochlan Morrissey writes, “Belief can override evidence obtained by other means precisely because it is more personal and, in a sense, more humanistic than the impartial scientific method.”[2] So, even if there are questions regarding otherwise scientific issues, we can, and do, sometimes choose to “believe” what suits our predispositions (follow our intuition/biases). Our beliefs win out and we find ourselves offended by the “other” because they go against our way. Your candidates of choice are either Nazis or Socialists, although very few people in either party literally fit either of the traditional definitions.

I, like Brett Neely, believe that our ability to trust in politics is coming under fire. We often have to choose the least worst lie based on our personal belief system. And, then, we may get it all wrong.

Robert Frederick Zenon (Bob) Geldof KBE is an Irish singer-songwriter, actor and political activist who wrote, “You can’t trust politicians. It doesn’t matter who makes a political speech. It’s all lies – and it applies to any rock star who wants to make a political speech as well.” [4] I love that he added himself, knowingly or otherwise, by being a rock personality who was offering a political belief, as a part of those he distrusted. Smile.

Tomorrow, as you gloat or mourn, remember that this nation celebrated its 246 birthday last July. It has endured rough political waters and a Civil War. It has had beloved Presidents and despised Presidents. It has had inflation, recession and the Great Depression. Governing has never been easy and discerning who should govern is always fraught with emotion. I can imagine many a political pundit during those 246 years suggested their election year was the Most Important Election Ever, yet here we are and our republic has survived. I suspect the Constitution is the primary reason for that.

Just remember, because of “truth decay” [1], 2024 is going to be the Most Important Election Ever after this one. Smirk!

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[1] NPR, Untangling Disinformation: How to avoid sharing false or misleading news about the election, Brett Neely, November 6, 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/11/06/1134412184/election-day-is-coming-heres-what-to-think-about-before-sharing-news?sc=18&f=1001

[2] Lochlan Morrissey, Alternative facts do exist: beliefs, lies and politics, The Conversation, Published: October 4, 2017 9.31pm EDT, https://theconversation.com/alternative-facts-do-exist-beliefs-lies-and-politics-84692

[3] The Lebanon Reporter, Election 2022: The more things change …, Thomas L. Knapp, November 8, 2022, https://www.reporter.net/opinion/columns/election-2022-the-more-things-change/article_9dab4126-5e16-11ed-8c16-13cf284da0d1.html

[4] Quote Master, Quotes about Political Trust, https://www.quotemaster.org/political+trust#written-quotes